Boredom Relief Club
by RionAgrias
Summary: The only thing that relieved him from boredom was his cousin until he attended an idols concert with his cousin and a few "friends". One announcement and one meeting makes things anything, but boring.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1- A Concert**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. For those who are not typical students of Yasogami, I made up their ages and if you don't like the ages I decided… well you know my rule about it. I expect ethical respect from my readers and if you don't want to be a respectful reader, then go hit the back button. I also had to adjust some suffixes. Also, I used Persona rules, not actual rules for suffixes.

P.S.: All sorts of OOC stuff. #1. Camping trip happened earlier

_Souji's thoughts_

* * *

**Early June: Just before switch to summer uniforms**

**Yasogami High: Room 2-2: Before School- Wednesday**

"Souji!" a loud male voice rang out.

"Souji!" the voice exclaimed.

_What… who's bugging me?_

A tired young man with short silver hair slowly opened his eyes and raised his head slightly from the comfortable position; head resting sideways against his outstretched left arm that he had finally obtained only a short while ago. As he looked at the man who called out to him, a shaggy-cut brown-haired young man, Souji saw there was a smile plastered on the speaker's face. Souji sighed and responded in a tired voice, "What do you need, Yosuke?"

The boy known as Yosuke responded in an excited tone, "I just found out something amazing. Guess what it is!?"

Souji's head never moved from its acute angle from his left arm as he responded in the same tired tone, "How would… how could I possibly know?" Yosuke might be one of his best friends, but he could be… unreasonable.

Yosuke seemed unfazed by Souji's lack of enthusiasm, denial, and knowledge. Instead, he asked, "You know of "The Three Idols of Japan", right?"

Souji did not quite nod, but instead said, "You mean Kanamin, Risette, and Mariko?"

Yosuke's smile only grew as he moved closer to Souji's right ear and whispered, "Mariko and Risette are coming to Okina…"

"They don't get along…," Souji murmured. "There's no reason for two of them to do a concert together." He continued. "They always work solo…"

"Well… according to my sources… Mariko and Risette are going to be there Saturday evening for a secret concert," Yosuke confirmed. "Even if the Mariko and Risette can't stand each other, they will both be there."

_The two might at least be on some sort of speaking terms… However, I don't think either of them can stand Kanamin._

Souji blinked twice and raised his head slightly, bringing Yosuke into better view. The dark button-up winter school uniform was a perfect match of the school dress code except for one difference. He wore white school shoes instead of the assigned dark black ones. Yosuke followed the rules… most of the time. He was a bit rebellious when it came to revenge, having fun, and hanging out with girls. Souji took a breath to get some oxygen to his brain, "By sources… do you mean people at Junes?"

Yosuke nodded, "It was a part-timer who works late shift down in the grocery department."

Yosuke's father was the manager of the mega-mart, Junes, that had inundated itself across Japan, and only last year opened a store in Inaba. Yosuke worked there part-time, more out as a feeling of duty and maybe need more than actual desire.

_That's not very reliable…_

When Souji brought up his doubts, Yosuke shook his head, "You understand that she wouldn't lie to me, right? Girls never lie to me…"

_What deluded thinking…_

Souji shook his head, but not before yawning. He sighed, "So… what? Are you planning on going or something?"

"Of course I'm planning on going!" Yosuke exclaimed. "Why do you think I came here to tell you that?"

"If you're planning on going…," Souji said, "Then that means Teddie is, too… right?"

Yosuke nodded, "Did you really think he'd miss a chance to see Risette?"

Souji restrained himself from shaking his head again. Teddie, or Thedodore, was an exchange student who stayed with Yosuke's family acting as a host family. Teddie was more of a playboy than Yosuke could ever hope to be. When it came to attempting to woo a girl, Teddie was like no other. He just failed a lot…

Souji decided to change the subject, if just slightly. "You know Chie doesn't like those idols at all."

"So…?" Yosuke responded.

_Just saying…_

Yosuke liked being around various girls just because they were girls… but one of his few actual friends was a short, but cute brunette with a bowl-cut and a firecracker personality.

_Somewhat…_

Firecracker was a good trait to describe Chie's personality. A constantly lit firecracker was a good way to describe their relationship, too. They might be friends, but the two were always fighting over something… be it over a broken DVD or Chie spending all of Yosuke's money without telling him. Their constant fighting might be the reason Yosuke was always hitting on other girls.

Souji was still thinking when Yosuke smirked, "Is Yukiko the reason you don't seem very excited? "

_Of course not…_

Yukiko Amagi was one of Souji's friends. If there was a poll for prettiest girl in Yasogami High, the girl with black hair supported by a red headband that came down to her waist would probably take the prize. However, she was probably the shyest girl of all second-year students. She was also Chie's best friend.

Souji actually found out that though she could barely talk to people besides Chie, she was really hoping someone would do something like be straightforward and just talk to her like a normal person. A lot of guys were wishy-washy when they tried to hook up with her which caused a lot of misunderstandings for Yukiko. Those misunderstandings caused a lot of problems for the boys, which required Chie to be nearby a lot. Occasionally, Souji would have to be there to clear the misunderstandings, too.

Souji wanted to have good friendships with Chie and Yukiko, but extenuating circumstances made his friendship with Yukiko even more tumultuous than Yosuke and Chie's. Yukiko was the daughter of the owners of the biggest inn in Inaba, the Amagi Inn. Though Souji believed that one of the reasons that Yukiko actually wanted new friends was to free herself from the responsibilities of working at the Inn; she was even less available than ever. Even today, she was helping out with a large group that was staying at the inn.

His friendship with Chie…well, it was just hard to have a real friendship when she was always fighting with Yosuke. Also, she was also closer to Yukiko than anyone else. That meant if Yukiko needed something, the girl with black hair down to the waist took priority over everyone else.

"You don't have to worry about either Yukiko or Chie," Yosuke assured him. "You know you want to attend."

Souji shrugged, "I'll give you my decision after school…" It was best if he put it off for a few hours.

Yosuke nodded as he said with a knowing smile, "I'll be waiting for you to pay me…"

Souji gave a small exhalation in disbelief. Yosuke continued as he shifted his standing position so more weight was on his dominant right leg, "By the way… you look really tired… what's up?"

"Oh…," Souji blinked twice and adjusted his sitting position. "Nanako was sick last night and my uncle didn't come home until the morning…"

"Yeah… that's right, your uncle is a detective," Yosuke nodded. "I guess you had to take care of your little cousin."

Souji nodded, "Someone has to…"

Souji had moved to Inaba to live with his uncle and younger cousin while his parents were working overseas. His uncle, Ryotaro, was a detective, and was always beyond swamped with work. Ryotaro was forced to do a lot of overtime, and that meant a lot of time away from his daughter, Nanako. With no other family member around, Souji was usually the one entertaining and/or taking care of Nanako if something went wrong. That seemed to happen more and more often as of late.

"Well… now I get why you're tired, Souji," Yosuke nodded, and then added. "Just don't make sure you have to look after Nanako on the day of the concert…"

Souji rolled his eyes. It was not something he could control. If Dojima was out of town, then he would be in charge of being there for his cousin.

At that moment, a short girl with a shorter than regulation skirt and a green jacket with yellow stripes running up the zipper rushed into the room and headed towards the seat next to Souji. As she passed Yosuke, she gave him a momentary glance, and took her seat. This girl was Chie, and apparently… she and Yosuke were fighting about something again.

Yosuke gulped and headed back towards his seat, one row directly in front of him; not before giving him a quick wink.

Chie almost looked just as tired as Souji, but instead of placing her head on her desk; she placed her elbows on her desk and supported her head with raised palms. Before Chie could close her eyes, Souji said, "Cutting it close, huh?"

Chie turned her head slightly towards Souji and said, "You could say that…"

"So... what's the argument about this time?" Souji asked, referring to Chie and Yosuke's lack of conversation.

Chie made an annoyed face before she answered, "He's… making too big a deal out of something insignificant."

_If insignificant means nearly poisoning us to death during our school campout._

The school had gone on a school campout not long ago in the semester, and Yukiko, Chie, and Yosuke were with him in a group. The campout ended up being more of a "pick-up trash"-out to supposedly build character, but it was nowhere near the worst part of the event. The worst part was that Yukiko and Chie were in charge of making the group's dinner. The four of them were supposed to eat curry. However, because of Chie's culinary choices in additives to the dish, and both of their cooking skills; the result was beyond inedible. Apparently, Yosuke had still not forgiven Chie, specifically, for her transgressions.

"I'm sure you two will be fine…," Souji said. He asked. "Do you want me to talk to him about it?"

_It won't do a damn thing, though._

Chie made the slightest nod, "No… we will work it out."

"If that's what you think," Souji shrugged. "If he acts up, then you know where to find me."

_Though it's actually kind of fun to watch them argue…_

He left her to rest until class started. She looked like she needed it.

A minute later, an ugly buck-toothed teacher with a blue and white striped suit strolled in and took roll with a sneer. As Souji waited for his homeroom teacher, Mr. Morooka, call his name, he wondered if it was even worth it to go to the concert. He had so many… so many reasons to go and so many reasons not to.

The truth was… Souji was really bored. He had some friends, but one constantly ignored him for work at the prestigious inn, another was always working at Junes, and the third was too busy watching kung-fu movies or protecting the girl who was working at the inn. He had a dead-end part-time job folding envelopes, and when he wasn't doing that; he was taking care of his little cousin because his uncle was never home to take care of her. Yukiko had great grades, but she only was only tied for the highest score in the second-year. That other score belonged to Souji, and he didn't even have to study. Studying would have been something to do, but he already knew everything. There was just nothing for Souji to do… not in this small town. He had his scooter license, but he had actually had gotten it in while he was living in the big city; he just did not have a scooter or the means for fuel in this little place. Even if he had the scooter and the fuel, could he find enough to entertain himself to make it worth it?

"Seta!" the buck-toothed homeroom teacher called out.

Souji gave a lackluster response and homeroom continued with a rant on how students should be pure.

Souji barely made it through his first few classes; he did not even take any notes. He had the handout, so why should he listen to the useless gym teacher teach English? The history teacher was off her rocker, and the geography teacher was a pedophile. They were all so… worthless.

When the pedophilic geography teacher finally left and lunch began, Souji dragged himself out of his chair. He saw that Yosuke was leaving to eat on the roof. The weather was nicer than usual, so it made sense. Chie did not appear to be going with Yosuke, though. Souji sighed, grabbed his bento from under his desk and headed towards the roof to talk to Yosuke.

Souji opened up the door to the roof where Yosuke was already sitting on the far edge with his chopsticks in hand. There was absolutely no one else there on the roof. He gave a lackluster nod to Yosuke as he sat down and unwrapped the dark green cloth around his own bento.

As he snapped apart his chopsticks, he looked at Yosuke and said, "So… how are you planning on paying for the concert tickets?"

Yosuke swallowed the piece of whatever he was eating. Yosuke's face fouled slightly. "Do you think that because Chie stole all of my money that I can't pay for the tickets?"

Souji shrugged, "Possibly…" He added. "I don't even know exactly how much these tickets will cost."

"Well…," Yosuke shook his head. "Chie wouldn't… she wouldn't be the only reason I'd be strapped for cash." He picked at his shrimp tempura. "It's because…"

"You'll probably have to pay for Teddie's ticket, too?" Souji finished Yosuke's statement.

Yosuke nodded, confirming Souji's guess. "He works at Junes with me… he's just terrible at saving money because he doesn't know how to save money."

"I guess somebody won't be getting a scooter anytime soon…," Souji smirked.

Yosuke let out a short breath, "Don't remind me about that…" He took another bite. "It's no use reminding me about something I can't afford right now."

Souji took a few bites of his carefully made lunch. He did not even know what Yosuke would do with a scooter… by himself, anyways.

Yosuke closed his bento and turned to Souji, "So… have you decided yet? You know… about the concert?"

Souji took a deep breath, exhaled and said, "I guess… that I should at least attempt to clear my schedule and make time in the evening."

"Alright!" Yosuke smiled, "You won't regret it…"

_We'll see about that…_

Souji internally rolled his eyes. He decided to ask a question that he felt to be extremely important, "Exactly how much is this going to cost me?"

_If Yosuke is worried about cost… should I be?_

Yosuke moved his head and gave Souji a number that made him scoot back in disgust.

_That's way too expensive…_

The silver-haired boy knew he would have to fold a lot more envelopes than usual in the next couple of days, especially when he added, "I want you to get me two tickets."

"Two?" Yosuke looked puzzled.

Souji closed his bento and nodded while slightly curling his lower lip into his teeth. He uncurled his lip and said, "The only way I can be sure that I won't have to take care of Nanako is… to have her attend the concert…"

"Seriously?" Yosuke questioned.

"She's a big fan of Risette," Souji confirmed.

Yosuke's inquisitive look turned to an approving look, "That's a really good idea, Souji. It'll kill two birds with one stone." He looked at his watch to check the time to see how much time was left before they had to head back. He asked Souji, "But will your uncle let her go all the way to Okina? What if he's actually home for once?"

Souji shrugged, "There's a ninety-nine percent chance he won't be home. Besides…I've proven myself to be more responsible than him these past few weeks."

Yosuke snickered as he checked his watch again. He made a motion and both he and Souji made their way back towards the exit and back to room 2-2.

Souji might have made a decision on the concert, but his afternoon at school was as boring as always. Even when his afternoon classes were interrupted by the over-the-hill teacher who subbed in as their homeroom teacher when the buck-toothed jerk was absent; he was unfazed and bored. The over-the-hill teacher wore a low-cut shirt and short skirt and attempted to be seductive… with students more than half her age. She interrupted a class taught by an insane teacher with a puppet on his hand just to tell the class about an upcoming class event, but not before giving a seductive remark to all the guys.

When class finally ended for the day, Souji got out of his chair, grabbed his bag off the side of his desk, and left the room. He was glad to see that Chie had left her seat and was talking to Yosuke when he left.

_Maybe their argument or whatever it is will dull a little…_

As Souji left Yasogami High's gates, he thought about how much it was going to cost to pay for two tickets to this secret concert. He headed down the shallow hill where the school stood towards the Samegawa Floodplains. The long stretch of roadway that was a straight shot to either the Residential District or the Shopping District was filled with students heading home from another boring day of school.

_These students aren't in any clubs… They are just as bored as I am, or… they are going to jobs or dates… or something fun…_

A long series of stone steps that led to the river below marked the halfway point between the school and the crosswalk that would lead to one of the other districts. Souji heard rumors that there were people who would go fishing down by the riverbank. Souji did not know anybody that crazy. He had also passed a seldom-used covered wooden table. Not once since he arrived in Inaba had Souji seen a soul sitting at one of the benches that were attached to that table.

"Welcome home!" a young girl's voice called out warmly when Souji slid open the door of a modest two-story home that he was temporarily staying at until his parents finished their work overseas. The young girl was his little cousin, Nanako. The sweetest girl a person could find, Nanako spent far too much time by herself because her father was always at work.

"Hello, Nanako…," Souji responded in the warmest tone he could muster. His spirit always rose a little when he was around his cousin.

After discarding his shoes and throwing his bag to the side, Souji walked farther inside and his younger cousin came into view. The young brunette with short pigtails on the sides wearing a striped dress of brown, white, and pink was standing with an expectant look on her face. There was no sign of the stomachache that was plaguing her the night before.

Souji continued, "How are you today? How was school?"

As Nanako started talking about what the teacher had taught them in school today, Souji's eyes drifted towards the kitchen counter and the sink where his dirty dishes still lay from this morning. He had forgotten to at least wash the remnants of eggs off of them before he left for school, even if he was going to wait until later to actually wash them.

Even though Souji's mind was only half on Nanako, he gave a positive response to her statement about what she had learned in school and then moved into the small space between the dinner table and the kitchen.

"What are you doing Big bro?" Nanako asked.

"I forgot to wash off my dishes…," Souji explained.

"Oh…," Nanako said. "I'll get it."

Souji shook his head. He scooted past the fridge to where the sink was and then grabbed the plate from the bottom of the sink so he could turn on the water.

"Nanako… what do you want for dinner?" Souji asked as he washed off the remnants of breakfast off the dish before moving to Nanako's breakfast plate.

She thought a second and said, "I don't know… whatever you want…"

"Well… I forgot to go to Junes to pick up any produce, so… we'll just see what we have around here," Souji put down the plate and wiped his hands so he could go to the fridge. As he opened the fridge, he asked, "Is your dad coming home tonight?"

_I might as well ask…_

"He said he'll try to get back by tonight, but…," Nanako said.

Souji finished her statement, "We'll just have to wait and see…"

Nanako nodded with a face that oozed disappointment. Souji could tell that she did not expect her father to come home. It was something that made him extremely annoyed… that her father was not there when she needed him. He would make a little extra for her father, just in case…

He could not gauge her feelings while he made dinner, a semi-pre-prepared affair from Junes. Her face was turned away, facing the TV at the "true dinner table". The TV was the abode for her feelings; at times… it was Nanako's escape from her loneliness. At best, Souji could try and alleviate some of her emptiness.

"It's ready…," Souji called out to Nanako. She was still sitting below at their real dinner table, cross-legged, behind burgundy couches that formed an L-shape.

"Okay…," Nanako responded, but her enthusiasm was gone. The mention of her father had deadened the happiness of her cousin's arrival.

Souji decided he should try and make it easier on her because he felt it was his fault her enthusiasm had waned. He said, "I'll bring it to you…" He asked. "What do you want to drink?"

"Juice…," Nanako answered; her voice lifting slightly.

_Either two trips or I pull off a waiter miracle… I think I'll go for two trips._

Souji opened the fridge again and pulled out the Junes-brand juice, and then proceeded to grab two glasses. After pouring the liquid and returning the juice, he brought Nanako's food to her first, bending down almost to his knees to place it on the table. After he brought his own food to the table, he sat down across from his cousin. As he prepared to start eating, the door slid open.

_No way… now he comes home…_

Across from Souji, Nanako's face lit up as her sorrow disappeared and in its place was a smile. She stood up, her food untouched as a middle-aged man with very short dark hair with the slightest amount of gray showing on his stubble came into view. His red tie had been loosened on a middling-green shirt, while his dark pants had lost its crease. Ryotaro Dojima looked downright exhausted.

"Dad!" Nanako exclaimed as she rushed towards her father.

"Hey, Nanako…," Ryotaro said.

Nanako stopped a meter away from her father with her hands on his hips and said, "You're late again!"

_Again and again…_

"I know… I'm sorry…," Dojima apologized. He looked to his nephew and asked, "You watched over her today?"

Souji nodded from his seated position and Dojima said, "Thanks…"

Souji's uncle took a look past Nanako to the extra food that Souji had made just in case he came home. He said, "You two made dinner, too…"

Nanako explained, "Big bro made it…"

"Always so useful…," Dojima managed a tired chuckle. "I guess I'll wash my hands and we can eat."

Nanako returned to her food and a minute later, Dojima appeared out of the bathroom after washing his hands. Souji had set out a plate for him while he was in the washroom, so he took a seat cross-legged in-between Nanako and Souji.

"Can you turn on the news, Nanako?" Dojima asked.

Nanako picked up the remote slowly and switched the channel. The petite newscaster broadcasting the news had a monotone voice; Souji found it very annoying. She was going on about a waterskiing chipmunk when Dojima said, "This is good, Souji…"

"Thanks…," Souji replied.

For about a minute or so, the three of them ate in silence with only the TV as background. Souji was wondering whether to bring up Saturday or not. He had a feeling that Nanako would not be allowed to go off that late at night, even with an older chaperone like him.

_I guess I will ask him. He'll probably say not, but…_

Souji opened his mouth, preparing to ask him about the upcoming concert when the phone on the wooden stand pushed up against the wall started ringing. Souji shared a look with his uncle, almost trying to mentally decide who should go and get the phone. Begrudgingly, Dojima left his cross-legged position, stood up, and walked over to the ringing phone.

Souji looked to his cousin as Dojima answered the phone. A silent conversation went on between the two as the vocal conversation went on beyond.

"Do you think it's about his job?" Souji appeared to ask without saying a word.

"Probably…" Nanako tried to respond with only a slightest of nods and a small frown.

Souji pushed his lips together as he tried to push his thoughts to Nanako, "I wonder if it's good news, or bad news."

Nanako's frown grew slightly, "Probably… bad…"

"You shouldn't think like that," Souji tried to smile for her sake.

The two of them barely noticed the upbeat commercial that had interrupted the news broadcast. Souji was only half-listening and half-watching as a pretty teenage girl with dark red pigtails wearing a skimpy bikini was being drenched with water while holding a can of some mysterious liquid.

The pretty girl was calling out to the listeners of the channel as she turned her neck slightly to the side while keeping her face forward, "I'm tired of diets…"

_Ooh… bouncy…_ _the water is just flowing down her…_

Souji tried to read Nanako's thoughts, to no avail, while the commercial continued.

A nameless voice from the background of the TV from the commercial was announcing, "Quelorie Magic is a drink that…"

Back to reality, Dojima continued his phone conversation in a tired, monotone voice, "Okay… okay… I understand. I'll be there when needed." The look of resignation in voice was extremely apparent when he said, "Don't worry about it… I'll see you tomorrow morning. Good Night…'

When Nanako heard her father say that "I'll be there", her heart dropped to the depths of her stomach and then some. She looked to Souji with eyes that were holding back tears only by her with great resolve.

Dojima placed the phone back on its stand and turned to Nanako and Souji with a forlorn look on his face. He was slightly biting the underneath of his bottom lip as he said, "I think you can probably guess that I have to work.'

Nanako's voice was wobbly, almost a tremble when she asked, "Right now?"

"Actually…," Dojima said. "A guy has called in vacation time on this Saturday and Sunday and they want me to fill in while he's gone."

_Saturday… that might work in my favor…_

Nanako did not look happy at all with Dojima's announcement. Her face screwed up into a pout. She looked like was to just about cry. Dojima tried to calm her down, "I'm sorry, Nanako."

"Don't worry… I expected it…," Nanako muttered. She suddenly stood up, "It's fine; I have Big bro with me."

_She's not fine at all…_

Souji knew that now would be the best shot for him to bring up the concert, especially if he wanted to try and coerce Dojima into letting Nanako go along… late night… by themselves.

"Nanako…," Dojima said slowly. He noticed the distress in Nanako's voice.

"Souji finally cut in, "Nanako… you're not doing anything on Saturday, are you?"

"No…," Nanako shook her head. Her sullen mood lightened automatically being addressed by Souji. "Why are you asking?"

"Well… in the evening… I'm planning on going to Okina…" Souji started to explain.

Dojima cut Souji off, holding up his hand, "Wait a minute… why are you planning on going to Okina?"

Souji took a deep breath, "Well, there's supposedly a super secret concert that's taking place on Saturday Evening. I was planning on going with a few friends."

_Teddie is a friend… sure, why not_

"A super secret concert, huh?" Dojima looked inquisitive, "Why were you asking about Nanako's availability? You know our rules about leaving late without me without a good reason…"

Nanako looked at Souji and said, "Who's playing?"

Souji shook his head, "Not playing… It's a concert of Mariko and Risette."

"Rise-chan!?" Nanako's eyes went wider than they had all day. She looked extremely excited.

"You like Rise-chan, Nanako?" Dojima asked.

_Glad to see her dad knows so much about his daughter._

Hearing about Rise culled some of Nanako's disappointment as she replied, "She's the best singer… everyone in my class loves her."

"Ah… I see….," Dojima nodded in understanding. His face immediately steeled as his gaze turned back to Souji, "You were asking her about her availability on Saturday so you could take her to a concert of singers she likes?"

Souji did not have a good answer for that; his uncle was about sixty percent right in his guess. He had a general argument in place, but had not expected his uncle to be home; he was kind of making it up as he went along.

Souji took a deep breath and steadied himself. He needed to try and give a straightforward answer before putting forth an argument. "It would be something for Nanako to do besides staying here all day… just like everyday she's at home pretty much by herself."

Dojima stared straight at Souji as he said, "Well, I'd consider letting you go because you're old enough, but letting Nanako go out that late…"

"I'll be there to watch over her," Souji said. "I'm going with others from my school, so she would be with more than just me."

Nanako had an expectant look on her face throughout the whole conversation so far. She looked excited to possibly go see one of her favorite singers with her cousin that she really enjoys spending time with.

Dojima sighed, "I understand your reasoning about wanting her to do something different, Souji…" He took a deep breath. "But… I can not in my good conscious, let Nanako go out that late for who knows exactly how long… and without an adult."

"I guess you're right about the time factor… I can't say exactly long it will last…," Souji nodded.

Dojima gave his own short nod, "I hope you understand that it's all for her." He continued. "I'd let you go, but I'd prefer you have an older chaperone.

Nanako looked like she wanted to form a protest, but she knew there was nothing she could say that would change her father's mind. Souji, too, was thinking the same thing. Reasoning with Dojima would be almost impossible from this point onwards. Souji would have to try something else.

Souji looked at Nanako. He could not tell if she wanted to put on an expression of sadness or disappointment. It might be the fact that the idea was introduced was so quickly and shot down just as fast; she had no chance to form an opinion about it.

The rest of the meal went pretty much in silence. Souji helped Nanako with the dishes because Dojima needed to leave early tomorrow morning and he could not bother with the housework. It went faster with the two of them working together. Dojima was supposed to get some rest for tomorrow, but he instead read the newspaper with a cup of black coffee.

_I hope he'll be able to sleep._

As Nanako put the dishwashing liquid back below the sink, and Souji finished wiping the sink itself; he whispered to his young cousin, "When your dad goes to bed, I have something to talk to you about."

Souji knew there was only one way to accomplish the mission at this point, and he could only achieve it in a second, more mischievous way.

It took what it seemed like forever for Souji's uncle to finally go to bed, but when he did; Souji walked straight over and sat down to a yawning Nanako who was still half-watching TV.

Nanako's expression perked up slightly when he said, "Hey… Nanako, let's talk about the concert, okay?"

Nanako looked a little confused, "What do you want to talk about? Dad said we can't go…"

She reached out for the TV remote and turned down the volume before the conversation could continue.

Souji cleared his throat before he said, "My friend Yosuke is the one getting tickets for everyone. I told him to purchase me two."

Nanako had only met Yosuke once; it was during Golden Week when Dojima was forced to work and Nanako was forced to spend her holiday alone. Since she was stuck by herself, Souji took her to Junes while Yosuke was busy stocking goods and they chatted for a while. Luckily, Junes was Nanako's favorite store.

"You remember Yosuke, right?" Souji added.

Nanako nodded, but then said, "If we can't go, how…"

Souji shook his head, "He won't be here." He continued, "I'll be here to watch over you, and so will my friends. Don't worry… your dad just wants to make sure you stay safe, but you'll be safe with me."

"I don't know…," Nanako pursed her lips.

"You'll get to see Rise-chan and Mariko...," Souji said. His emphasis was on Rise.

"You won't tell…," Nanako started to ask and switched to another half question "Or…"

"I would never tell," Souji responded, knowing that he would probably get in bigger trouble if he did. He continued, "I'm not going to leave your side for a second as long as you stay right by me."

_This is my best shot…_

Nanako suddenly smiled, "Okay… let's go." She reached out for the remote again. "I want to see Rise-chan!"

Souji nodded as he realized that his plan had worked out… well sort of. He would have to be really sneaky about it, but the two of them would get to go to the concert on Saturday.

After Nanako went to bed, Souji headed up himself a short while later. He realized a few things as he undressed to go to sleep. The first was that he had not done his homework and that he would have to get up early to finish it. The second was everything about this concert, the fact that he was looking for something to do and that was supposed to satiate that; he felt like it was not really for him. This thing with him about to sneak around his uncle, Souji felt like he was doing it not for himself; he was doing it purely for Nanako. She needed the entertainment far more than he did. She needed… deserved to see a concert with a singer/idol that she really liked. It was not about Souji.

The next day, the silver-haired second year got up from his black futon earlier than usual to do the homework he neglected. If he did decide to go to school outside of Japan, his minor issues with the foreign language would not be solved with doing homework. It would be fixed by removing his accent.

He had finished his work quickly enough that he had time to go wash his face and change from his sweat pants and long shirt to his school uniform and head downstairs before Nanako had even finish making sunny-side up eggs and toast for the two of them.

As Souji reached the bottom step, Nanako turned and smiled at him just as two pieces of toast flew up from the toaster. "Good morning, Big bro!"

"Good morning…," Souji said as he took a seat at the wooden breakfast table. It served no other purpose besides the place where Dojima read the paper and drank coffee.

Souji was always more cheerful towards Nanako than anyone else as he asked how she was doing. She responded in a happier tone than last night, "I'm doing good, Big bro…"

The breakfast conversation was sparse, but lively. The two of them cleared the dishes afterwards, followed by Souji grabbing his brown school briefcase from against the chair he was eating at. He slipped on his shoes that were lying just to the side of the sliding door before he headed out with his cousin right behind him.

Souji usually walked about halfway with Nanako through the School Zone, which meant to the Samegawa Floodplains, until she started towards her own place of education. As they walked together Souji asked Nanako, "What do you think you're going to learn in school today?"

Nanako thought for a second as they walked and then said, "I think we're learning something about money today."

_Money…_ _something I won't have much of after I pay Yosuke for those tickets._

"That sounds exciting," Souji responded with a smile. "You'll have to tell me about what you learned when I get home."

"Yep!" Nanako nodded. "I will…"

The two of them split off at the edge of the Samegawa Floodplains and Souji headed through towards Yasogami High.

Souji took his time after he left Nanako, so the bell rang just as he reached the class 2-2. As he sat down next to Chie, the young man right behind him leaned forward and said to him, "Meet me after lunch and I'll give you what you were asking for…"

_I really hope that was Yosuke… it still sounded really creepy._

Chie turned towards Souji and asked, "What was that about?"

"Yosuke just wanted to give me his copy of the homework because I forgot to do mine," Souji lied.

_I don't know if she'll believe me._

"Right…," Chie said somewhat skeptically.

The school day was as boring as usual; Souji was just waiting for lunchtime so he could pick up the tickets for his cousin. When the proverbial bell did ring for lunch; Souji headed out the door with his bento in hand towards the roof like Yosuke asked him to. He walked past two male students had come out of 2-1, one with short dark blue hair and a stocky guy wearing a track suit. Souji then headed up to the third floor where an afro-wielding young man was battling someone by bombarding the poor bastard with riddles. When he finally reached the roof, he looked for Yosuke, but he saw someone had already beaten him to the brown-haired second year. Standing next to the guy with fluffy brown hair was the girl who sat next to him in class; the girl with ridiculously short skirt and green jacket.

"Yosuke…," Souji called out to the boy. "Why is Chie here?"

Somehow, Chie had beaten him to the roof. He had half-expected that she would figure out that Souji was lying about what he was meeting Yosuke for, but for her to get to the roof before Souji could. The silver-haired young man was not sure how she would take all of this.

Chie answered Souji's question, "Yosuke told me what he was sneaking around for…"

_Ohh…_

"So… you know…," Souji started.

Chie put her hands on her hips as she rested against the side of the far edge of the roof. She said, "It's stupid; spending all of this money to watch girls sing and dance."

_Obviously…_

"She doesn't understand the big picture, Souji," Yosuke rebuked Chie.

"What's there not to see about watch watching girls sing in skimpy outfits?" Chie looked at Yosuke. She turned back to Souji, "I expected better from you, Souji. I didn't know you liked these girls that much that you'd spend a lot of money to see a concert."

Souji took a deep breath before he said, "I'm not really interested in going. In fact, my attendance is only as a chaperone…"

Souji moved and sat down diagonally from Chie and Yosuke so he could start eating. Chie, however, continued her inquiries, "A chaperone? Who are you chaperoning? Yosuke…?" A smile formed after that last statement.

Yosuke moved slightly closer and whispered something into Chie's right ear. The smile turned into a look of exclamation. She stared straight at Souji and exclaimed, "You're planning on taking your little cousin to a concert that will probably be full of perverted old men, teens, and Yosuke!?"

"Hey!" Yosuke retorted. "Why do I get my own category!?"

Chie ignored Yosuke and continued, "Why are you planning on taking your cousin?"

"She likes Risette…," Souji answered. "And… she never gets to leave the house to do anything because her dad is always working."

Chie shook her head slightly and turned her head back to Yosuke, "Alright! I've decided! Yosuke… get me a ticket… I have to help look after Souji's cousin…"

_This might not be so bad…_

"Aggh… another girl… this'll completely ruin our whole balance," Yosuke muttered.

_Another? Is Nanako part of this count? How could Nanako ruin anything? Chie can't hurt anything._

Chie glared at Yosuke, "I'll also be there to make sure you don't act like a perv…"

"Like there won't be hundreds of others…," Yosuke said. He sighed, "I guess I'll have to get another ticket."

Chie's face turned conniving, "You'll take care of the funds… won't you?"

Yosuke's face screwed up in annoyance. "You're not going to make me pay for your ticket!"

Souji tried not to chuckle as the argument about payment of the ticket started between the two. As long as he was not involved, Souji did not care. He just focused on eating his lunch while shutting out the background shouting. After he finished his food and wrapped his bento box back together, he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and grabbed way too much money out of it. He stood up and stepped between Chie and Yosuke during a lull of their argument.

"Here…," Souji said, handing Yosuke a wad of money. "I think this is enough for two tickets…"

"Ohh…," Yosuke stuttered slightly, being interrupted from arguing with Chie. "Let me check." He reached into his pocket to grab his wallet while simultaneously checking the money. As he pulled out the tickets from his wallet, Yosuke added, "You're still one-thousand short…"

_Damn… I'll be folding all week…_

Souji pulled out one more bill and handed it over. Yosuke nodded, took the bill from Souji, and then gave him the two tickets. Souji pocketed the concert tickets and bid farewell to Yosuke and Chie.

As he headed for the door, he heard Yosuke in the background exclaim, "Because of you, I never even ate lunch!"

"It's not my fault!" Chie yelled back.

_Those two are ridiculous…_

The rest of the day went by quickly… hastened by a nap in all of his remaining classes. As promised, he asked Nanako about her class when he returned home. Dojima came home late enough just in time to see Nanako walk past the burgundy couch to get ready for bed. A lackluster apology was all that could be given by her father before Souji, too, headed up to bed.

The next day, Friday, was very similar to the last, except for the lack of him spending a large quantity of money on tickets. Souji drifted through his classes half-asleep, while waiting till he could walk home alone and eat with his cousin alone. His uncle got home slightly earlier than yesterday, but only at the tail end of the meal. It still left no time for meaningful father-daughter conversation or bonding in general.

The next morning, however, there was a definite pep in Nanako's step as Souji left with her towards the School Zone. It was Saturday, and the day of the concert after all.

"You understand that there will be another girl watching over you, too, right?" Souji reminded Nanako. He was referring to Chie.

"Yeah!" Nanako nodded. She looked at him. "You'll be watching over me, though, right?"

Souji answered, "Of course… we'll watch the concert together"

Souji said goodbye to her on the promise that they'll meet after school so they could leave for the concert at the bus stop.

The flowing water of the Samegawa River followed him as he made his way through the School Zone. The billowing trees that lined the Floodplain were slightly more active than usual, due to the early morning winds. Souji was not in a great hurry, but for one reason or another… he just did not feel like being late today. The sloped hill that led up to the iron gates of Yasogami High; it felt even more tedious than usual.

When Souji reached his class, it was abuzz with people talking. Three people, two boys and a girl, were chatting.

"Did you hear!? Mariko is going to be in a concert tonight!" the first boy exclaimed.

"No way!? I heard that Risette was singing tonight!" the second boy said.

"Wait? If you heard Mariko was going to be singing; and if you heard that Risette was singing… that means…," the girl put together.

"They're both going to be in concert!" the second boy exclaimed.

"I wish I had tickets…," the first boy said. "Then I could… I would…"

Souji quietly took his seat, not wanting to join the excited chatter happening around him. Yosuke was already sitting down, while Chie was talking to his other acquaintance; the one friend who would not be attending the concert, Yukiko. The girl with long black hair had not been in class for the past few days because she was helping at her family's inn. She would most likely be helping tonight, too. She was always busy.

The bell rang and in came the buck-toothed Morooka spouting his usual spiel about everyone being terrible. Souji had long since learned to tune him out, just like everyone else had.

Souji dodged a few flirtatious remarks from Kashiwagi during the second half of homeroom when the fashion-challenged Morooka was called away and she was called in to replace him. Beyond a long spiel about Japanese poetry and a bit of South American geography, Souji could not say he learned anything useful.

When the bell finally did ring for the end of the day, Souji left his seat with bag in hand. His goal was to get home in an expedient fashion so he could meet Nanako and get ready for the concert. He left 2-2, and went straight for the stairs, barely glancing at the track-suit wearing young man and dark-blue haired young man from yesterday. He gave a short nod to Yosuke who was lingering not far from the library before he headed to the shoeboxes.

Souji was putting his school shoes back in his assigned box when he heard a call from a familiar voice, "Hey, Souji!"

Souji turned his head slightly to the left to see Chie waving at him with a smile on her face. He quickly closed the door on his box and responded, "Hey…"

"Let's walk back for a bit, okay?" Chie suggested.

Souji shrugged his shoulders, "Okay…"

Souji pushed open the door and Chie followed behind, not walking parallel until they reached the gates of Yasogami.

"So… what's up?" Souji asked.

"You were dozing off in class," Chie said. "I thought I was sitting next to Yosuke."

Souji withheld a chuckle, "Well… I was bored."

The girl in the green jacket sighed, "Figures…" She said. "We're meeting at the Southern Shopping District Bus Stop, right?"

Souji nodded, "That's the plan…" He added. "At least, that's where Nanako and I will be. If Teddie and Yosuke don't show up…"

"They wouldn't miss this for anything...," Chie told Souji jokingly. Her tone was more serious when she said, "We'll watch over Nanako…"

Souji nodded, "I don't really trust Teddie to watch over my cousin during an idol concert."

_Not sure if I would trust him to watch over Nanako even if it wasn't a concert…_

"Who would?" Chie questioned.

"I don't know…," Souji said to himself.

The two went their separate ways just before they entered the Residential District, but they would see each other again shortly. It was one of their longer conversations they had had in a while, as short as it was.

Souji hurried through the Residential District to the mainly drab-colored with the blue roof. He slid open the door, stepped through, and kicked off his shoes to find his cousin kneeling at the table used for dinner, watching TV. Nanako had already set her school bag off to the side and looked ready to leave at any moment.

"Welcome home, Big bro!" Nanako greeted him.

"Hey, Nanako…," Souji responded. Souji started up the stairs before he said, "I'll change and then we can go as soon as you're ready."

"Okay!" Nanako said, switching off the TV while simultaneously standing up.

When Souji got to his room, he threw his school briefcase onto his couch and started pulling out black pants, black jacket, and a black button-up. He threw his school clothes off and then threw his new clothes on. He made a quick stop to the restroom before checking his wallet to make sure he had his tickets inside.

_If I didn't have the tickets when we got to Okina… I'd feel stupid._

He walked back downstairs after he finished his preparations to see Nanako already standing in front of him a meter from the bottom of the stairs. The girl with brown hair tied in short brown ponytails said to him, "What do you want to do about food?"

_Crap… I forgot about dinner…_

Souji bit his lip, "I guess I could either make something really fast, or we could grab something from the fridge and eat on the way to the bus stop…"

Nanako thought for a moment and then said, "Let's eat on the way…"

"Alright…," Souji said. "Let's pick out something and then get going…"

Souji and Nanako opened the fridge and grabbed portable items that they could consume along the way. Food in hand, Souji double-checked that he had his wallet before he slid open the door and headed out. Since he did not prepare a real meal with Nanako, he actually had a bit more time than he expected; he was able to walk slower than he thought he would have to and eat his pudding with his cousin on the go. The two of them were able to enjoy their puddings and chat about the secret concert aimlessly. It was only when they closed in on the Shopping District that Souji started moving faster and looking for Chie, Yosuke, and Teddie.

As Souji walked with Nanako, he passed a multitude of buildings of various states of economic decline… all due to Junes's iron grip on Inaba's economy. There were shops in terrible shape, like the liquor store and the blacksmith. There were also shops that were still somewhat successful, like the ramen shop, textile shop, and the tofu shop. There were also a few stores that had already closed, like the model store and the bicycle shop. He sometimes wondered what the economy would be like if Junes had never come.

_Would they sacrifice convenience for stability? _

He tossed the empty food parcels in the trash and headed to the bus stop where a young man with set blond hair wearing blue pants and a frilly white shirt stood with Yosuke who was wearing brown pants and a light-colored jacket that had a faux-fur lining along the hood.

"Hey!" Souji called out as he stepped up to Yosuke and Teddie. "How are you guys?"

"Hey…," Yosuke responded.

Teddie said, "Hello!"

Souji looked over to his cousin who had slid somewhat behind him and was clutching his arm. She looked a little scared. He gestured towards Yosuke, "You remember Yosuke, right, Nanako? He's in my year…"

Yosuke gave a slight wave at Nanako, "Hi Nanako…"

Souji then gestured at the blond-haired boy and said, "And this is Teddie…"

"Hiya Nanako…," Teddie said cheerfully.

"Hi…," Nanako said extremely shyly.

"We're just waiting on Chie, then," Yosuke announced, adjusting his center of gravity by shifting the weight from one leg to the other.

"Guess so…," Souji nodded. He noticed that Nanako was still somewhat shying away from Teddie and Yosuke.

_She's still a little scared, but she'll be excited when the concert starts, though_

Teddie started tapping his foot, "Where's Chie-chan?"

Yosuke nodded, "Yeah… where is Chie? She made a big deal about coming to watch over us, and now she isn't here…"

Souji shrugged; he had no idea where Chie was. He started, "I saw her after..."

The bus had just pulled in as Souji started talking and stopped in front of the blue sign near the Moel Gas Station. Chie… was nowhere to be seen.

_Chie… where are you?_

"Dude… should we just get on?" Yosuke asked. "I don't want to miss the bus."

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" a female voice rang out from behind Souji.

Chie was running at full speed towards Souji and Nanako. She had changed from her dark-colored school skirt to short jean shorts. Teddie had already stepped on the bus and Yosuke had one foot on the bus steps by the time Chie caught up with Souji and Nanako.

"Sorry, Souji… I'm just glad… I didn't… miss the bus," Chie was completely out of breath.

"Don't worry about it… you made it," Souji said. He started following Yosuke while he looked to Nanako and said, "This is Chie…"

Chie looked at Nanako and bent down slightly as she said, "Hi…we're going to be watching the concert together tonight."

Nanako looked a little more comfortable around Chie as she nodded and said, "Yeah…"

When they finally stepped onto the bus, Nanako sat next to Souji, obviously. However, Teddie tried to move over to sit with Chie. That plan… was a failure for the first-year. She moved to a seat in front of Souji instead of one in front of Teddie and Yosuke.

Finally, the bus started moving towards Okina and off they went towards the secret concert. There was some conversation, but not too much. Souji could tell that there was slight excitement exuding from Teddie. Nanako's fear was also dissuading; it was mainly due to Chie turning her head around and asking her friendly questions. Teddie and Yosuke were telling dirty jokes on their side of the bus.

At each stop, more people got on the bus… Souji could tell that quite a few were traveling for the secret concert. They were of varying ages, but there were various giveaways, such as little Risette and Mariko fan items.

A few rows up, a young man whispered to a girl, "Man… I'm so excited to see Risette."

"Just, remember who your girlfriend is…," the girl responded.

_Ouch…_

"Did you hear?" another man said. "I've heard they've completely repurposed a movie theater for the concert."

"Do you mean they took out all the seats or something?" a college-age guy responded. "I go there with girls sometimes…"

_Aren't you a little old to be crushing on Risette and Mariko? Though there will probably be old guys there… so I can't say anything…_

"I guess they're going all out for this secret concert…," Souji muttered.

Souji's eyes locked onto the final stop of the bus. The final stop was… Okina City. He looked at Nanako and said, "Let's go…"

As many of the others on the bus left before Souji and the rest of his group, he looked outside and saw that there were a lot more people milling around the front of the movie theater.

_I guess they are not letting people in early…_

Souji got off the bus with Nanako in tow, only Chie was in front of him. Yosuke and Teddie were behind him. There were a lot of activities around Okina that Souji might have done if he had people to go with. There was a coffee shop, that concert hall that normally was a movie theater and many others… including clothing stores and photo booths accessible via an escalator.

"Hey… when are they letting us in?" a high school girl that was milling around asked.

Another girl responded, "I don't think they're letting us in until the sun goes down…"

"Come on…," the first girl said, "That's like… ten minutes from now. They can't let us in early?"

Souji wanted to say something as he stood there, but instead Chie walked up while shaking her head and said, "Some people are so…"

"Come on!" Teddie exclaimed. "I want to go in…"

Souji shook his head, "I should have expected as much…"

"No one else can wait… I don't see why we can't be excited," Yosuke argued.

"You got a point… I guess," Souji shrugged.

The banter of Teddie complaining and Souji and Chie shaking their heads stayed constant for about ten minutes. Finally, after the sun started to set, the doors to the theater swung open dramatically. Two burly males came out and demanded to see peoples' tickets or for those who were milling around to get lost.

"Come on… let's move it along…," one of the guys called out. He was sporting sunglasses even though the sun was clearly not a threat to anyone's eyesight at this point.

Souji looked at Nanako and smiled, "Let's head in…"

The line was not exactly straight, or organized. There was a bit of pushing back and forth due to impatience to get into the theater. Souji was right in front of Nanako as they slowly moved down the line. Souji held both the tickets in his hand so his cousin would not have to worry about handing it over to the intimidating guy by the entrance. When he finally reached the entrance and handed both tickets over, Nanako stayed close so she would not have to make more than brief eye contact with the bouncer-like ticket takers.

"She's so young… I don't know why there is such a young kid here…," Souji heard the bouncer-like guy start to say

The entrance of the movie theater was lit, but once Souji entered the main hall he found it to be practically pitch-black. He moved forward slightly, only to bump into someone. He could barely make out Yosuke and Teddie standing a bit off to the left. He also felt that Chie was somewhere to his right. The only thing Souji though he knew for sure was that Nanako was holding onto his arm, standing just behind him.

_If that's not Nanako… it has to be someone on their knees or really short._

"Big bro…," Nanako called out, confirming that she was right behind him. "It's dark…"

"You're right…," Souji said. He added. "Just stick close to me. The concert is going to start soon."

Nanako said, "Okay… I'll stay close…"

Souji could not see Nanako's expression, but she sounded sure about what she said.

_I still can't believe they took out all the seats and rolled up the screen… They put in a stage where the screen was, too… I think they installed new lights up by that stage, too. There has to be a temporary speaker system somewhere…_

With no seats, the interior looked like a giant mosh pit except for the stage up front. The concert had not even started, and he was being bumped around. Before he knew it, he was only a few rows from the front of the group. Outside of Nanako, Souji could not make out any of the others in the terrible lighting anymore. He had to wait for the lights on the stage to turn on.

There were fire escape doors on each side, close, but not quite at the bottom of the stage, but there were also utility doors at either side of the stage that were used by staff that almost touched the current stage. They were usually used by staff to search for people ducking in, sneaking into movies they did not belong in, or doing inappropriate things. Souji could tell that that these doors were being opened repeatedly and various people were rushing in and out to set things up, test microphones, and other menial tasks.

_I guess we're just waiting on the two idols now. I wonder if they have proper make-up rooms… We didn't see any sort of vehicle for them to get changed in… Whatever… As long as Nanako is happy… That's all that matters…_

The voices around Souji perked as people in the crowd started getting restless. One middle-aged man said, "Man… when is this concert going to start? I paid good money for this!"

"This better be good," an older voice called out. "My wife doesn't know I'm here to see Mariko…"

_Dodging your wife to see a teenager sing? Is that worse than me bringing Nanako? I hope so…_

"We skipped work," a voice said; it sounded a young teenage girl. "It was only a shift at Junes."

"Yeah… it's not like our boss will notice us gone," a second girl said... presumably the "we" aspect in the first girl's statement.

_I wonder if one of them is Yosuke's contact… If they're not… I wonder if Yosuke knows they're skipping out on work…_

"It's Risette and Mariko," a teenage voice chimed in. "I'd skip work… I'd do all sorts of things to get here… And here I am…" There was a pause before he added. "Now… if I could meet them… I would… I would…"

_That guy might be a bigger perv than Teddie…_

The murmuring stopped and suddenly chanting began, "We want Risette! We want Mariko! We want Risette! We want Mariko!"

The chanting continued for over a minute; it started to get on Souji's nerves.

_I get it… you're getting impatient._ _There was a reason the ticket didn't have a time on it. It meant… "Shut up and be patient…"_

In one instant, Souji was ripped away from his thoughts as the lights suddenly on in a multitude of pink and blue. The whole crowd had gone deathly silent as a petite girl appeared from the back of the stage and grabbed one of the microphones in the front. She was a very pretty young teenager with long black hair dressed in what looked like a navy suit that was slightly too large for her. She had black glasses accentuating her dark eyes. Souji knew exactly who that was, and it definitely was not Risette. She did not quite have a smile on her face… instead, she wore a serious look. She had a commanding presence that exuded confidence.

"You are all my slaves!" the girl yelled out through the microphone.

A roar came surging throughout the crowd at that statement. The response to the girl with short black hair was unreal.

_Mariko… or… her real name is Marie, right? No wonder the crowd is going wild… she's as pretty as Yukiko._

Mariko put the microphone close to her face again, "You are my..."

"Slaves!" most of the crowd finished her statement.

Before Mariko could tell off the crowd again, a second figure came out of the shadows. This figure brought even bigger cheers from the crowd. It was another stunning girl, a head shorter than Souji. She had dark red hair, probably unnatural, curled and set down to her shoulders. She had on a short white skirt and a multi-layered dress of varying shades of pink and peach.

The roar that came from the crowd this time was even louder. It proved that this girl was even more popular than the idol known as Mariko.

_Risette… Rise Kujikawa_

Rise grabbed the other microphone and with her head only slightly turned towards Marie, she said, "Hey now… they're not your slaves…"

Marie turned her head just slightly back to Rise and said, "Oh… you want some of this crowd for yourselves?" She waved her right hand, palm up, towards the crowd.

"When did I say that?" Rise responded. "That's not why we're here…"

"Oh… you're right," Marie said. She asked, "Okay… so why are we here, Risette?"

Rise smiled as she answered, "Risette is here for you guys today to… sing!"

If there was a roar when Mariko announced their slavery, and a cheer at Rise's arrival; it was a whisper compared to this latest statement.

The lights focused directly on Marie and Rise as up-tempo music from the temporary speaker system started to blare from the surrounding area. Any phones that had not been taken from the pockets of the attendees were rising and focusing on the pair that had put the microphones up to their faces and started to sing. As the first syllable left Rise's lips, Souji felt a tug on his shirt. He could not quite turn around, so he instead tried to cut through the ever-rising volume, "What's wrong?"

Souji could barely hear Nanako, "Big bro... I can't see…"

Souji took a deep breath, "Okay…" He lowered his shoulders while the first chorus started, "Get on my shoulders."

_Who cares if we block peoples' view…_

Nanako gently reached onto Souji's back and grabbed his shoulders. Souji steadied his cousin and held her as high as possible without a risk of dropping her. He heard complaints from some people behind him, but he shut them out of his mind.

"Better?" he attempted to ask Nanako.

Nanako nodded instead of trying to speak loud enough for Souji to hear her.

The two idols were almost through their first song; they finished the third verse and were going back to the chorus. Marie and Rise were swaying along with the music.

_I thought they didn't really get along. What's with the duet?_

He did not care too much about the singing, but if the others were enjoying it… he did not care. Before he knew it, the first song was over, and the two idols were again standing parallel to each other, in front of the crowd.

"Hey!" Are you all having fun!?" Rise yelled.

It seemed like the whole crowd shouted, "Yeah!"

Marie looked at Rise and asked, "Do you think we should sing another?"

Rise nodded. She nodded and gestured towards her counterpart, "You first…"

_No duet this time…_

"Okay!" Marie called out. "Get ready…"

The tempo of the song was even faster than the last as the black-haired idol started singing to the crowd. The song was rich and deep, while keeping a constant speedy tempo throughout. A majority of the crowd started jumping up and down while nodding again and again in time with the beat. Souji did not quite jump up and down; he lifted his heels slightly repeatedly while keeping the balls of his feet glued to the ground. It was not exactly because of the singing; it was just because the natural beat of music.

Another cheer broke out when Mariko… or Marie finished her song. As soon as it was over, the beat began again… this time much, much slower. Rise started singing a ballad. It was an intoxicating, entrancing song that was even getting to the silver-haired Souji. He was torn between if he wanted it to end so he could break out of its spell, or if he wanted to be kept under its spell. There was no bumping or jumping during this song; it was just the masses listening to a girl singing a ballad of love and heartbreak.

_If I actually liked ballads… then… this song would…_

As soon as it started, it stopped. Rise's song had finished. Her grip on the microphone tightened as she said, "I really appreciate everyone being here today. It really means a lot to both of us."

Rise turned to Marie so the black-haired idol could speak. Marie cleared her throat, "We have something to say to all of you."

"It's very important…," Rise continued. "It's why we suddenly did this concert."

"The thing is…," Marie announced, "Risette and I… we're quitting the business…"

_That's… unexpected…_

Souji half-expected a roar of boos or something. Instead, there was nothing but a shocked silence from the crowd. After a few seconds of nothingness, rumblings… and then words of dismay came out from the crowd.

"No! Don't leave!"

"Say it isn't so!"

"Risette! You can't leave!"

"Mariko… you're everything to me!"

"I'll have nothing to live for!"

_You'd think they're dumping them…_

Rise cut in, "I know this is a big disappointment to everyone, but… Mariko and I wanted to make the first announcement to loyal fans."

_Heh… loyal fans… what does that make me?_

Mariko explained, "You can beg… you can plead, but… nothing you'll say will change our minds. We're done…"

_Ouch… it's like when Yosuke asked out Yukiko._

Mariko's face was deathly serious as she continued to squash peoples' complaints. Rise's face looked depressed and saddened. She just looked… tired.

Overall, it was hard to get out of the concert hall without hearing mumblings, grumblings, and complaints; some more vulgar than others. Souji told Nanako to cover her ears as they made their way out of the converted movie theater towards their bus stop. It did not really matter to him, but… it would be a depressing subject for Nanako, Yosuke, and Teddie.

_I'll have to find the others, too. We got separated._

The last bus back to a darkened Inaba left in a few minutes, so Souji made his decision to hurry to the stop without paying attention to anyone else. He would actually look for the others when he reached the blue sign.

Nanako had slipped off his back before they had even left the theater. As they walked to the stop, she asked, albeit tiredly, "Is Rise-chan going to stop singing?"

Souji answered, "I don't know... it sounds like she might…"

"Why?" Nanako questioned.

Souji did not have an answer to Nanako's question. There was no way he could know that answer. The reasons a girl like Rise might have for quitting being Risette… there could be plenty. However, Souji knew nothing about her past experiences or her current psychological makeup.

_Both of them quitting together… it had to be planned…_

Souji decided to try and answer Nanako. He said, "Well… I'm not sure. Maybe she was tired of being an idol…"

Nanako nodded lazily, "If she's tired then she should stop…" She yawned. "She shouldn't sing if she doesn't want to. My teacher said that we shouldn't make people do what they don'…"

Nanako's statement was cut off by another yawn; she had started to lean against Souji. She had basically fallen asleep against Souji's right side. Souji used his right arm to make sure she didn't fall, while keeping an eye on the other people gathering around the bus stop.

_It is late… past Nanako's bedtime…_

Through all of the mumbling, Souji heard a distinct male voice close in, "I can't believe the two of them just announced they were going to quit show business." Yosuke stepped up close to Souji and said to his friend, "What do you think about all of this?"

"About what?" Souji shrugged as best as he could with Nanako resting against him.

"Risette… Mariko…," Yosuke answered.

"Oh…," Souji said softly. He continued in a quiet tone. "I don't know… how should I feel? I guess the two of them wanted to give us one last concert before they announced the end of their singing…"

The blond-haired Teddie walked up to the opposite side of Yosuke and said, "The concert was so short, and then they tell us they quit!" His next statement was in an over-dramatic tone. "Noooo!"

Chie had somehow snuck up right behind Teddie. She chided the blond-haired first-year, "Hey… don't you guys see that Nanako is sleeping…"

Yosuke and Teddie looked from Chie to Souji, and then to Nanako. Teddie quickly apologized. "Sorry, Senpai…"

"It's fine…," Souji said. "Just try to keep your voices down…"

When the bus finally arrived, Yosuke, Chie, and Teddie boarded the bus first… along with most of the others. Souji very carefully picked up Nanako and put her onto his shoulders again so he could get on the bus with her sleeping. It was awkward, but she somehow stayed asleep until Souji placed her down as softly as possible on the seat next to him.

Since there were even more people on the way back, Yosuke and Teddie were forced to sit far away from him. The only person close to Souji and Nanako was Chie who was sitting one row ahead. She turned halfway around and looked over the seat. She asked, "How's Nanako doing?"

"I think she's doing pretty well…," Souji answered. He decided to add on a whim. "Thanks for coming along…"

_It did give me someone else to talk to on the bus ride…_

Chie looked a little confused, "You're welcome, but… I said I'd help you watch over Nanako-chan… but…"

"We got separated?" Souji finished. When Chie nodded, he continued. "It's not your fault that that happened."

Chie nodded, "Okay… good." She smiled slightly. "But… I'm glad you're happy that I came."

Souji almost thought he saw a slight blush on her face, but he could not quite tell due to the darkness of the late hour. Regardless of her emotions, their conversation was short because neither of them wanted to wake Nanako. After that, he was left counting the stops until they arrived at Inaba.

_Damn… these seats are never as comfortable at night. The buses that start late and end overnight are terrible. I'm glad we are not spending all night on the bus._

Even though it was not very late, the dark sky was somewhat intoxicating; he was finding it hard not to keep his eyes awake. His silver eyes were drooping after every stop; the only thing keeping him awake was the loud announcement that they were nearing a stop. Thankfully, Nanako stayed asleep, but Souji was stopped from falling asleep. It was probably for the best.

"Next stop… Inaba Shopping District! Next stop… Inaba Shopping District!"

Souji's head rose again as the announcement was given that they were finally reaching their destination. The bus stopped suddenly, just as it had quite a few times before. He looked at his cousin one last time before helping her onto his shoulders; she did not stir for reasons unknown to Souji. The only five getting off at that station were those from Yasogami and Nanako.

_I wonder where those girls who were skipping out from Junes live…if they don't use this stop…_

Souji wanted to hurry home, only so he could get Nanako to a proper bed. She could not spend the whole night on Souji's shoulders. Before he left the Shopping District, Souji being unable to wave because he was steadying Nanako by holding onto her legs, he instead nodded to the others and said, "Thanks for inviting me… I'll see you guys on Monday…"

"See you on Monday, buddy…," Yosuke said.

"Bye…," Chie gave a small wave.

"Bye, Senpai!" Teddie gave a slightly more energetic wave.

"Talk to you guys later…," Souji said before turning around and stepped away towards the Residential District.

Only a few hours ago, just going the opposite direction, Souji was torn between going fast or slow. Now, he wanted to get home quickly so Nanako could get some proper sleep, but he did not want to wake her up before he had to. It left him walking down the Shopping District at a normal pace. The lights were lit on the Shopping District, but even fewer shops were open at night than at daytime. The specialty store in the Northern Shopping District was closed and so was the Blacksmith. However, the store that housed the general goods called Shiroku seemed to be open; it just looked a little shady. Aiya's looked to be open, as well. Souji was not worried what store was open, or what store was closed as he passed the Tatsuhime Shrine with the red torii standing higher than any store in the district. When he reached the Residential District, and then Dojima Residence… he saw something he did not want to see…

_Oh... great… the lights are on…is it bad that a burglar break-in might be better than having Dojima come home early?_

Souji decided that the no matter why the lights were on, he needed to have his cousin awake. Before he let her off his back, he turned his head around just slightly and called out Nanako's name very softly. Nanako stirred and opened her eyes. "Big… bro?"

"We're home, Nanako…" Souji said.

"Oh…," Nanako sounded tired. "Did I sleep all the way back?"

Souji responded quietly, "You did…" He adjusted his arms, loosened his grip slightly. "I wanted to wake you up before we got home. Why don't I let you down and we can get you to bed?"

"Okay…," Nanako said before she yawned. Souji slowly let her down. She glanced at the lit house and asked. "Is someone home? Did Dad come home?"

"I don't know…," Souji told her. "Stay close…"

_Tired enough to forget that Dojima will be mad if she finds out we left for the concert…_

Souji pulled out his borrowed house key out of instinct. It was unlocked, but he was not more than one-hundred percent sure he locked it… like he even needed to most of the time. He slid open the door and found Dojima was indeed there waiting for him, sitting at the breakfast table with a cup of coffee in front of him, and the newspaper in hand. When he saw Souji come in with Nanako right behind him, he lowered the paper.

Before Dojima could even say anything, Souji whispered to Nanako, "You go straight to bed, I'll talk to your dad…"

"Okay… Goodnight Big bro," Nanako told him.

Souji was not exactly sure if Nanako said, "night" to her father, but he was going to take all the blame. He stood ready to deal with whatever came.

"Souji…," Dojima started. "Why was Nanako out so late?"

"She was with me… at a concert," Souji responded.

Dojima said very calmly, "I thought I told you that Nanako should not be out that late."

Souji nodded, "I remember that, and I remember telling you why I wanted to bring her to that concert."

"And I do not remember saying that that mattered, am I correct?" Dojima said.

Souji nodded again, "That's correct." He bit his lip, "I apologize."

_At least he isn't yelling… for Nanako's sake... probably…_

Souji's uncle nodded in acceptance, but then asked, "Did you watch over her?"

Souji answered while adjusting his stance, "She did not leave my sight for one moment."

"Good…," Dojima responded.

Souji continued before Dojima could say more, "I told you she would not leave my sight if I took her along."

Dojima's face returned to one of steel, "That would not have changed my mind, Souji."

"I understand…," Souji said. He knew nothing else would change, and that he needed to end this conversation or there would probably be more lecturing involved; it would most likely involve him being out so late.

"I should probably go to bed. It's getting late," Souji said to give him an excuse to go upstairs.

"Alright…," Dojima said. "I'll see you tomorrow…"

_I never even asked why he got home early… like it matters anyways…_

Souji immediately headed up and nearly almost threw himself onto his futon as soon as he opened the door to his room. He was not overly tired walking home from the Shopping District, but something about speaking with Dojima… it wore him out. The only thing that kept him from going straight from the door to futon was the fact that he needed to change into slightly more suitable clothing for sleeping, black sweats and a gray long sleeve shirt. After he did that, his head hit the pillow, and he was able to relax for the first time in a while.

As he drifted into what he hoped would be a dreamful bliss, Souji hoped that Nanako enjoyed the concert. He had gone against his uncle's wishes for her, and he would do it again and again. He did not really think he would enjoy the concert, but… even though he did not spend a lot of time with his friends; he might have actually enjoyed it a little. Part of it might have been that he was doing something different with Nanako, who at least looked like she was having fun during the concert. The other part was that the time he spent with his friends, before and after the concert; he usually did not get the opportunity to speak with all of them for extended periods of time. It might have made the experience… with all that happened… enjoyable.

_There's one other good thing coming up…_

He woke the next morning around 8 a.m. by Nanako's call for breakfast. There was one distinct change for him after he washed his face. Instead of wearing a black jacket over a black shirt over his black pants today, Souji put on a white polo with his black pants.

_I might as well get a jumpstart on our summer clothing. I mean, we start wearing Summer Uniforms tomorrow…_

Souji changed into cooler clothing, but he had no intentions in leaving home. He spent his time with his cousin and uncle instead. Thankfully, his uncle did not mention Souji's transgressions. He wished that the concert would not even be brought up at all, so there would be no chance for Dojima to mention it. There was one problem, though. Somehow, the news about Marie and Rise, or Mariko and Risette, quitting show business had been leaked. The news would not stop talking about, and since Dojima was home… the news was on more often than when he was absent.

The talk shows just would not stop talking about the two idols either.

"So, Yuri, why do you think both idols decided to quit at the same time?"

"It's hard to say, Jun. It could have something to do with both of them working at the same agency."

"Do you think there is something wrong with either of them… mentally or physically?"

"There was no evidence of any physical or mental issues before the announcement, but I do not have direct access to either of them. It could be that we may never know their exact reasons for leaving."

Even though Nanako was interested in Rise, she quickly got sick of all of the monotonous talking. It was bad enough that Doujima switched to another channel at her request. The three of them spent their day together for once… it was nice for a change.

_Never expected us to be together for a whole day._

Souji made the evening meal as always, but it was the first time that he made it for three and eaten hot the first time around in a long time. The world was indeed coming to its end. He slept better than expected as well; it was most likely due to his feeling of satisfaction about the weekend.

_I'm not sure if I'll be excited and have anything interesting to do this week, but we'll see_

The silver-haired young man opened his eyes a little later than he expected to. He was again woken by Nanako's call. He washed his face and changed into clothes different than the week before. Though his dark pants were the same as his previous season's uniform, but his dark black jacket had left his wardrobe until after summer. He made sure he had no significant bed hair and grabbed his school briefcase before headed downstairs where his sunny-side up eggs and toast were already waiting for him. Dojima had already left, of course, but Nanako was sitting across from where his plate was lying.

"Let's eat," Nanako said cheerfully as Souji sat down. "We do not want to be late."

"You bet…," Souji nodded. "Thanks…"

The breakfast was satisfying as always. Souji cleaned the plates in the sink to save time before the pair left their home together to head to school. The two walked through the Residential District, but at the crossroads between the Residential and the entrances of the Shopping and Samegawa, Nanako looked to Souji and asked, "Big bro… can you pick me up something from Shopping District?"

Souji answered her cousin, "Okay… I will try and get it for you."

Nanako smiled, "It's at the Shiroku Store."

Souji nodded and listened to a more thorough explanation of Nanako's request before again agreeing to her wish. He said goodbye as she headed in a different direction, towards her school.

_I might forget if I don't go through the Shopping District and get what Nanako asked for right now. However, it might be faster if I go through the Floodplains. Crap… I'll just go through the Shopping District. I'll just run like hell.._

"It's for Nanako…," Souji muttered to himself.

Souji quickened his pace as he rushed into the Northern Shopping District. He passed the two most successful shops in this half of the Shopping District, Tatsumi Textiles and Aiya's, at this expedient tempo_. _At the same time, he passed right by the red torii of the Tatsuhime Shrine. Souji crossed into the Southern Shopping District, and went straight into Shiroku. He went scouring through the small store for the item Nanako had requested. It was something for a project that she had to complete before summer break started.

After he finished his purchase, he left Shiroku and kept walking until he past Daidara's. He needed to get to the intersection that contained the Moel Gas Station and the bus stop that he had used to get to the concert. He had to go left at the intersection because if he went straight… he would end up at the train station. Before Souji could make his left turn, he heard a young female yell from behind, "Hey, you!"

Souji turned around and saw a pretty girl standing in front of him. The girl had short messy black hair covered by a brimless blue hat; she was wearing a sleeveless white button-up and a short tight blue skirt. She had very long socks on with repeated black and white stripes.

_She looks familiar…_

"Hmm?" Souji said.

The girl stopped a meter away and said in a commanding voice, "You… I need your help…"

_Demanding, aren't we?_

"I want you to tell me how to get to Yasogami High?" the girl said.

_Yasogami?_

"You want to get to Yasogami High?" Souji responded. "Are you lost?"

"No….!" the girl argued. She quickly softened and said in a quieter tone, "I just can't find the school."

_I guess I should help her… She looks way too familiar._

Souji was going to help her, but he was interrupted by another young feminine voice rushing up from behind. "Marie! Don't tell me you got lost!?"

The other voice belonged to another beautiful girl with dark red hair drawn in twin ponytails. She had on a school uniform that involved a short gray skirt and white blouse with a yellow ribbon at the top.

"I didn't get lost… Rise…," Marie muttered.

Souji looked at Marie to Rise and then back to Marie. The reality of who was standing in front of him finally started to sink in.

_Marie… Rise… That's Mariko and Rise… You have to be kidding…_

* * *

Okay… so 1st chapter is always the hardest for me. I'm really going to push the plot into high gear next chapter. So… hope I didn't bore you too much. This is probably the last story you'll see out of me. Just need to get a move on it since I'll probably be getting a new computer soon.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2- Boredom Relief**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. For those who are not typical students of Yasogami, I made up there ages and if you don't like the ages I decided… well you know my rule about it. I expect ethical respect from my readers and if you don't want to be a respectful reader, then go hit the back button.

P.S.: All sorts of OOC stuff. Persona rules on suffixes #2 Marie is a bit controlling…

_Souji's thoughts_

_Marie… Rise… That's Mariko and Rise… You have to be kidding…_

Souji's thoughts were interrupted by the girl he recognized as Rise. She looked at Marie and questioned, "If you're not lost, then why did you stop?"

Marie tried to hide the truth, "I stopped because…" She quickly changed the subject, shifting to a harsher tone, "Wait a minute? Didn't you just go in the wrong direction earlier and have to go ask for directions?"

"Ummm…," Rise could not give a full answer.

"It doesn't matter," Marie said with a bit of satisfaction on her face. "I found us someone who will show us the way to Yasogami."

"Who?" Rise questioned.

Marie turned from Rise and gestured towards Souji, who had been slowly inching back for a reason he was did not really know. Souji stopped when Marie said, "This guy… he's telling me how to get to school."

Rise focused her attention on the silver-haired young man and said, "Even if you explain to her where Yasogami High is, she won't find it. Why don't you just show us?"

_Does that mean I'm walking with Rise and Marie?_

"I won't get lost…," Marie complained to Rise. "Stupid..." She looked at Souji with an expectant look on her face and her school briefcase in her hand, "Well… you're showing us to school…"

Souji shook his head; he did not think a former idol like Marie would be this bossy about such a simple thing like asking someone to show her and Rise to school.

_Well… she was an idol, and at the concert everyone was her slave. I guess I should consider myself lucky… I'm around Rise and Marie._

"Okay then…," Souji nodded. "Follow me…"

Souji turned away and took the left towards Yasogami High, not looking at the pair. He did not plan he would actual say or do anything embarrassing if there were two idols in his midst. However, he did not want to take a chance. He just walked ahead and hoped the two were following behind him.

_If Yosuke or Teddie were here, they would be acting like complete fools._

He had barely entered the School Zone when Souji heard words from the dark red-haired idol. Walking a few steps behind him, she muttered softly, "He hasn't said anything yet."

Marie was walking next to Rise as she said, "He's doing what I told him to do. Don't worry about it…"

Rise walked slightly ahead of Marie and asked the young man who was a few steps ahead, "Excuse me… I'm afraid I don't know your name. Could you help me?"

Souji did not slow his pace by much because he was still in danger of being late because of his late start and stopping at Shiroku. He turned his head somewhat so he could see the two that he was leading, and responded, "My name is Souji Seta…"

Rise nodded, "Thank you…" She continued and then gestured to Marie as she talked. "My name is Rise Kujikawa, and my friend here is Marie Kusumi…"

"Friend?" Marie stuttered. "Since when…?"

_Yosuke said they don't get along…_

"I am guessing you know who we are…," Rise directed her statement towards Souji while ignoring Marie's pretend confusion.

"Were…," Marie corrected in a direct tone.

"Right… who we were…," Rise agreed.

"Mariko and Risette…," Souji answered, which resulted in a nod by both of the former idols. The three passed a building in the School Zone; he asked, "Do you mind if I ask why you two are here… in Inaba… going to Yasogami?"

Marie and Rise looked at each other before Rise answered slowly and softly, "Well… I have family here. I decided to move in with my grandmother."

"Friends of the family…," Marie said quickly.

"Okay, that makes sense," Souji said. There was a surprising lack of students walking down the School Zone. He could not be that late; he was definitely not early.

_There are other schools in Inaba, though…_

Souji decided to ask another question, "What year are you going to be in?"

"We'll be first-years…," Rise answered, speeding up slightly. "You?"

_Idols and their homeschooling… Who knows where they are…._

"I'm a second-year…," Souji answered.

"Oh great…," Marie muttered. "Do I have to call you Senpai?"

Souji shrugged, "Only if you want to, I guess…"

_There are a lot of questions you can ask…_

"You moved here awfully quickly…," Souji said. "How did you move in so quickly? I haven't seen any press either…"

_It's only been a little over a day since the announcement…. Now they live in Inaba?_

"We actually started moving a little while ago," Rise answered. She was almost level with Souji. "We were just about settled even before we told our fans we were quitting."

Marie added, "We didn't even do any of the lifting. We just asked some guys, and they were more than willing."

_Marie would ask that…_

As the three neared the final poles of a row of power lines, Souji decided to ask something he would probably not get an answer to. "Could you tell me why you two decided to quit singing?"

"Does it matter?" Rise sounded affronted.

"Of course not…," Souji said.

"Why would I answer a cradle robber?" Marie explained.

"Cradle robber?" Rise looked confused.

"I noticed it at the concert," Marie smirked. "I can't believe I didn't notice you earlier. You had a little kid on your shoulders for the whole concert."

Souji bit his lips on the ridiculous of her statement. He was called out on something beyond stupid. He had to restrain himself from retorting immediately. He focused his attention on Marie, took a deep breath, and then said, "That was my cousin. She was too short to see Rise sing, so I put her on my shoulders so she could see her."

"So…," Marie's smirk remained. "You have a cousin complex…"

"Marie!" Rise exclaimed, but then lowered her voice. "That's not nice…."

"Alright… alright…," Marie apologized. "I'm sorry... heh…"

Souji rolled his eyes, "Didn't you have longer hair?"

_Her hair was longer yesterday_

"It was a wig…," the black-haired girl answered. "Long hair is stupid…"

Souji rolled his eyes. The gentle slope leading up to the gates of Yasogami High was in sight, and he started to walk up it with Marie and Rise walking right behind. Souji finally passed another soul besides the three of them, but the young woman was in such a hurry that she did not even notice Rise or Marie. However, not all students would be oblivious or ignore the sight of the pair.

Souji said, "How do you plan on not making a scene in school?"

Rise answered calmly, "I think the goal it to minimize the size and volume of a scene…"

"Introducing ourselves to a bunch of students will make a scene to begin with, so there's no way not to make a scene," Marie explained. "Rise means she doesn't want to make a scene before we start class."

"We'll probably be noticed as soon as we enter the school, though," Rise admitted. "It's inevitable…"

"It would be worse for both of you if you two are seen walking to school with me, right?" Souji asked.

Rise nodded and Marie said, "Those sorts of rumors are stupid…" She continued, "Here's your chance to be a brave and wonderful sacrifice to keep us from being noticed. If you do the job well, you may even keep us from being noticed until we get to our classrooms."

_I don't like the sound like this…_

"And what sacrifice is this?" Souji asked half-heartedly.

Yasogami's gates were almost in view as Marie explained, "I want you to run to the top floor of the school. Then, right by the stairs, I want you to take off all your clothes and yell about how it is the end of the world and that the only to save it is to start a new generation in the next nine to ten months."

_She's insane…_

"Marie!" Rise exclaimed. "You want him to do what!?"

"Sorry…," Souji waved his hands in a disagreeable motion. "I'm going to have to decline."

"Fine..," Marie pouted. "If we die in a mass crowd of students wishing to bask in our presence because you didn't do what I asked… it will be all… your… fault…"

"I still think the answer is no…," Souji answered. "I'll just go in on ahead so I get to the school before you two."

_I think Marie is crazy. Rise seems a little shy. _

He put distance between himself and the other two. He heard Rise's voice in the distance, "Where do we go to find out our class assignment?"

Souji did not even turn around this time, instead just yelling, "Take a right from the shoeboxes and you will see the office. Go there…"

"Thanks, Senpai!" Rise yelled.

_That's the most cheerful I've heard her sound today…_

"Yeah… thanks," Marie added in a lackluster tone that Souji barely heard. He guessed that Rise made her say it.

He opened the middle door to Yasogami High and switched his shoes. He noticed that there were not a lot of students milling around the first floor, but he put it out of his mind and headed up the stairs and towards room 2-2. The room was almost completely full, but that was due to the fact that homeroom had nearly started. Yosuke and Chie were both in their seats, Chie sitting next to, and Yosuke sitting behind him. When Souji sat down, Yosuke stood up and walked over to Souji so the three could talk.

Yosuke, too, had discarded the dark-colored school jacket. He stood in front of Souji's desk with his arms crossed and said, "Hey, buddy… How was your Sunday?"

"It was as you expect," Souji said. "I did absolutely nothing." He asked, "Did you work at Junes?"

Yosuke nodded, "Yeah... me and Teddie worked all day; Teddie slacked off all day." He turned to Chie and said, "Hey Chie… I never asked if you had any fun at that concert."

The girl who sat next to Souji had tied her trademark green jacket around her waist and was wearing the school-regulation white blouse and yellow ribbon. She looked to Yosuke at his remark and said, "You were busy telling dirty jokes to Teddie. When you do call me, you call me to tell me dirty jokes…"

_We know where Yosuke's mind lies._

Chie looked to Souji, "Yes… it was pretty fun, right?"

Souji nodded, "You're right… wasn't bad…"

"Should have been longer," Yosuke muttered. "I wanted to watch Risette and Mariko for longer."

_About that… Should I say something?_

Yosuke continued through Souji's thoughts, "I mean… look at Rise's long legs, those hips. How about Marie's figure? She has the softest skin and that…"

Chie cut the fluffy brown-haired young man off, "You sound like a huge pervert."

Yosuke put on an apologetic face, "Don't worry, Chie. Figure isn't the only thing that matters."

Souji ducked his head as the petite brunette walked around to Yosuke and hit him in a sensitive area. As Yosuke fell backwards in terrible pain, she exclaimed, "I'm sorry I don't have a perfect figure!"

_That had to hurt…._

"Are you okay?" Souji asked.

"Don't worry about him…," Chie told Souji.

Souji smirked, "Who said I was asking about his well-being?"

Chie started to chuckle as Yosuke stayed hunched over in pain. Chie made her way back to her seat as Souji relaxed in his. Souji looked at Chie as she sat back down and said, "Have you seen Yukiko lately?"

Chie shook her head, "She called me last night. She said she'd be here today, but I didn't see her this morning."

"Maybe she's…," Souji tried to answer, but at that moment three people entered the classroom. One of the new entrants was Yukiko. She had shed both her black leggings and her heavy red sweater for a lighter red and white blouse with yellow ribbon for the summer. Yukiko smiled at Chie as she walked towards her seat and Chie greeted her in return.

The second person was a male student with an excited look on his face who was clearly running behind. The third was the second homeroom that filled in when Mr. Morooka, King Moron, was unavailable. In other words, the third person was Ms. Kashiwagi. The woman was still wearing a slightly too-tight pink short-sleeved button up that was unbuttoned too far for a teacher.

Yukiko was taking her seat and Kashiwagi was moving toward the center of the classroom when the male student who had just entered called out in an excited tone, "There are two new transfer students!"

_Oh crap…_

The effect of his statement made a slight stir within the class, but nothing overly disruptive. Regardless, Kashiwagi said, "Okay… settle down." She said to the male student, "You should sit down…"

The male student was unfazed by Kashiwagi as he exclaimed, "The new students are Mariko and Risette!" .

"Mariko!?" a male student in the front row looked shocked. "Here?"

"Risette…," a female who sat in the back said to another. "Why would she be at our school?"

"Eh eh eh… Mariko… She's so cute…," a guy in the corner snickered.

"I wonder if I could get Risette to sign something," another guy said. "Maybe she could touch my hand…"

"She wouldn't touch you if she was King Midas…," Souji muttered idly.

_Some of these people are so creepy…_

Yosuke had stood up and made his way back to his seat in the confusion. He tapped Souji on the shoulder and whispered, "Mariko and Risette at our school… How did they get here without so fast? How about without the press knowing?"

_I probably shouldn't say anything… If I do…_

Souji shrugged; he pretended to be ignorant of knowledge to all of Yosuke's questions. It did not stop Yosuke from asking more questions. Eventually, Souji turned to Chie and said, "Maybe Yosuke can quit going on and on about Rise and Marie if they're actually here."

Chie had an annoyed look on her face. She was thinking otherwise, "It's so convenient for him… now he'll be able to gush about their features if he can look all the time."

_I can't see into the future._

Kashiwagi suddenly called out loudly from the teacher's desk, "Quiet!" With that statement, the class settled down and the male that had entered in front of the perverted homeroom teacher finally took his seat. She continued. "So a couple of jailbait models entered out school… who cares? They flamed out as idols because they had no mature charm, obviously."

_Jailbait? Mature charm… oh dear…_

The announcement of Kashiwagi calling the new transfers, "jailbait", and having no charm would have normally caused murmuring, but she squashed any talking before it had a chance to start.

The murmuring waited until after homeroom ended, when Kashiwagi left the classroom in the short period before the gym teacher entered and tried to teach English.

"She thinks she's their rivals?" a girl said, "But she's old… the wrong side of forty."

"Has she ever even seen Rise or Marie?" another girl questioned.

"If she wants to, I think Morooka has a pin-up calendar of Risette," a guy chimed in.

"That's nasty…," the second girl responded.

The gym teacher entered and the pathetic attempts to learn English from an idiot began.

Souji did not think much of idols, but speaking with them had been more interesting than his first couple of classes as the bell rang for lunch. He expected the majority of the class to run down to the first floor to find the new transfer students; he was right. Even Yosuke grabbed his bento and left in a hurry in what Souji guessed was anywhere but the roof.

_I never thought that talking to idols would be more interesting than school… even if one of them looks to be a control freak._

Only a few people were left in class as Souji started eating his lunch in his seat. One of the ones still in class 2-2 was Chie. She was still a little peeved at Yosuke about his comments earlier, and there was no way she was gong to follow him to take a look at Rise and Marie. The only other person of note that was still in the class was Yukiko, who had turned around in her seat, so she could converse with the others. Souji unwrapped the cloth surrounding his bento and pulled apart his chopsticks.

Souji looked to the girl who he had not had a chance to speak to in days and asked, "How has work been, Yukiko? You've been busy, right?"

Yukiko nodded slowly, "We've been really busy…" Yukiko's face suddenly looked apologetic. "I'm sorry…"

"Sorry?" Souji looked slightly confused.

"Chie said you and her went out with Yosuke at a concert," Yukiko explained. "If I wasn't working…"

Chie waved her hands across the desk, "I told you that it was okay. You wouldn't have wanted to be there. It was just a concert of watching idols."

Yukiko shook her head, "That's not what you told me… about what you…"

"Yukiko!" Chie exclaimed.

Souji interjected, "She's talking about the brief time before and after the concert."

"Oh, right…," Chie responded. "Souji and I chatted after Nanako fell asleep."

Yukiko looked a little down. It looked like she missed out on the little conversations she normally had with Chie. Her whole time was consumed in helping with the Amagi Inn, and it affected her. "Chie… I should have been there. We could have talked, too."

"Next time…," Chie said. "You'll come with us next time."

"Uh huh…," Yukiko nodded.

Souji looked back to Chie so he could change the subject, "You're feeling better, right?"

"Are you talking about Yosuke?" Chie asked.

"Huh?" Yukiko turned her head partially sideway, "What about Yosuke? What?"

Chie bit her lip, refusing to say anything. She looked at Souji, telling him not to open his lips. The information about the brunette's distress stayed hidden from Yukiko through the time Yosuke and many others came back into the classroom with unfulfilled looks on their faces.

_Looks like they failed…_

Souji put away his mostly eaten bento and asked the fluffy-haired second-year who was walking back to his seat, "How did it go?"

"Awful…," Yosuke responded. "Neither Rise or Marie wanted to talk to any of us…"

_Did you expect anything different?_

Yosuke continued, "And Marie was mean about it… she was really mean…"

_Heh… She probably just said no…_

Chie smirked, "You probably deserved it…"

The rest of the classes were as boring as the first few classes before lunch. Though there was an exciting announcement that sent the school into a frenzied state during lunch and after school, Souji had no wish to go off and see either former idol. He had already spoken to both of them, anyways.

He waved goodbye to Chie and Yukiko, promising to spend time with the pair at some point, before walking out of class 2-2 with his bag in hand to head downstairs past an ever-growing crowd of people that included a few teachers. He went straight to his assigned shoe locker and after changing his shoes; he walked out the middle door and past the iron gates of Yasogami High. He double-checked one more time that he had the item that he bought at Shiroku for Nanako before he strolled into Samegawa.

"Welcome back!" Nanako said to her cousin when he slid open the door after walking through the Residential District.

"Good afternoon, Nanako!" Souji responded. He opened his school briefcase and said. "I bought that item from Shiroku you needed."

"Thanks!" Nanako smiled as Souji pulled out the small bag and handed it over.

The item was for a local culture project. Nanako took the bag and went straight up to her room so she could use it later tonight. Souji followed her to put away his school briefcase.

They were alone, obviously. He did not expect Dojima to be home that early. The real test was to see if his uncle would be home tonight at all. Regardless, Souji would be there for Nanako… no matter what.

Souji ended up making dinner for just two again. He laid down two plates on the table in front of the TV where Nanako was kneeling. Souji sat down cross-legged across from his cousin and they simultaneously began eating. The news was on, temporarily, until Nanako called the droning newscaster "boring', and changed it to something more interesting.

She turned away from the game show that was now on after she was a little over halfway finished with her meal and said, "How was your day, Big bro?"

"Well… I met Rise today…," Souji answered, picking at his food.

_I could have done a little better job cooking it. _

Nanako's face lit up, "You met Rise-chan!?"

Souji nodded, "Her and Marie… I think they moved to Inaba yesterday…" He answered. "We met on the way to school…"

"That's so neat…," Nanako gushed. "Is Rise-chan nice?"

_Is she nice? Nicer than Marie, yeah…_

"She seems nice…," Souji replied.

Nanako and Souji continued to talk about Rise until a commercial interrupted their conversation. The commercial involved a petite girl with long black hair that was actually short named Marie.

The background was a blue screen before it cut to a beautiful garden with Marie standing in the foreground with a handsome blond standing next to her.

The background voice rang out, "Missing something in your life?"

"I know I am…," Marie answered in a oddly seductive tone. She was dressed in a provocative skimpy outfit of a short skirt and tight-fitting sleeveless shirt.

"Try the best dating service in Japan, "Date 4 U". This service matches you based on personality surveys, not on a picture," the voice said.

Marie smiled, "If you can't find a guy or girl on "Date 4 U" then you should…"

Nanako changed the channel before the commercial finished. Souji was absolutely fine with that decision. He though that even in her commercials, Marie was a bit commanding and a bit… unpleasant.

_Yosuke said it best…_

Dojima did not come home until Nanako was in bed, but at least Souji was able to say goodnight to him.

_What's new?_

Tuesday and Wednesday were somewhat like Monday. They were alike in the fact that Rise and Marie's class were being swarmed by students from other classes before school, lunch, and after school. It was also like other days because Souji was bored out of his mind during classes; his only respite was talking to Yukiko and Chie. Yosuke was usually out trying to talk to one of the former idols. The idols provided a different outlet for people to amuse themselves, but Souji was not all that interested.

_**Thursday: Yasogami High**_

"Hey, Souji…," Chie shook Souji awake. "Souji…"

Souji had fallen asleep in his last class of the day, math; the droning could not keep him from closing his eyes.

"Yes…?" Souji opened his eyes lazily and turned his head towards Chie.

Chie was standing next to Yukiko with her bag in hand. She answered, "Yukiko and I are going home now… we'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Souji nodded, "Okay… tomorrow…"

With that, Chie and Yukiko left 2-2 and headed downstairs to what was probably a mass of students blocking the first-year classrooms. Souji only guessed that because Yosuke was not in the room.

_Or he went to work…_

He bit his lip, thinking he should probably go home to make dinner. He grasped his school briefcase, and wiped the last bit of sleep out of his eyes. There was no one else left in the classroom when he started hearing rumblings. The door slid open and in walked the girl with short black hair and no sleeves on her blouse. He understood where the rumblings were coming from. Marie had walked into the room, and that meant fans were following.

Marie looked around the room and upon seeing Souji, had an expectant look on her face as she walked towards him. "Perfect…," Marie said. "Just who I was looking for…"

"Hmm? Kusumi-san?" Souji looked a little confused.

"I need you to do something for me…," Marie said. She grabbed his left arm and tried to pull him towards the door. It resulted in her nearly pulling him over the desk because she pulled without paying attention to exactly where Souji was.

"Hey!" Souji exclaimed. "You're going to rip half of my body off…"

"Oh…," Marie said, softening her grip slightly so he could slide around the desk without too much pain.

Souji stretched out his midsection slightly after he was pulled roughly by Marie. He put his school case on his desk and asked, "Why am I the person you're looking for?"

"Well… actually…," Marie pursed her lips. She finally continued her thought "You're pretty much the only guy not running around after either Rise or me." She took a breath and added as an afterthought. "If there were more …"

Souji shut his eyes for a second to hide his annoyance. He opened them and then said, "Sorry that I'm the only one left…"

Marie shook her head slightly, "It's fine… I think Rise would prefer someone she's met before."

"Maybe… you should tell me what you came here for," Souji held up his right hand. He was tired of being led around.

Marie nodded, "I want you to give me a tour of the different clubs, so Rise and I can decide if we want to .join any of the clubs at school."

_I'm supposed to do what?_

"You want a tour of the different clubs?" Souji questioned, mainly to make sure he heard her correctly.

Marie repeated, "Yes… show me the different clubs…"

_This sounds like a huge pain…_

Souji sighed. He grabbed his bag off the top of his desk, walked to Marie, and then headed out of class 2-2 with her. Before he could take two steps out of the classroom, Marie asked, "Are you in any clubs, Souji…senpai?" She waited a second before she added the suffix.

Souji shook his head… in his mind. He said slowly, "No… I am not part of any clubs…" He added. "We're headed to the Practice Building…"

He thought he heard Marie whisper to herself, "Maybe I should have found someone else… someone who knows something about the clubs…"

Souji exhaled in annoyance. He was not sure why he was doing this. It was only for one reason. The reason being that it was something, and not just going straight home to a house where he would be doing the same thing over and over…

The two walked into the Practice Building through a small walkway; it was not as interesting as other buildings with gardens and trees lining the paths between the buildings. You would not even be able to tell the difference between the Classroom Building and Practice Building if not for the activities going on each building.

He turned around to face Marie. She had the same expectant look on her face as he led her to one of the double doors along the second floor in the building. He took a breath and said, "There are a few clubs here,"

"Anything exciting?" Marie questioned.

"Depends on what you consider exciting…" Souji responded.

Marie inquired "Do you have any sports clubs?"

_Marie plays sports? Or does she want to boss people around? Or… does she want to hit somebody?_

Souji thought for a second before he pointed downstairs, "We have male teams for Basketball and Soccer Clubs. The soccer team has lots of players, enough to field JV and Varsity, but the Basketball never has enough players. Female… there's just never enough interest to field teams…"

"Figures..." Marie shook her head. "Those wimps are too busy going on dates and putting on makeup."

_Coming from an idol…_

Marie continued while adjusting her hat, "What else?"

"Music-wise, there's a Music Club on the 1st floor, and a Drama Club on the 2nd floor," Souji said. "We are in front of the Drama Club right now…"

"I don't consider Drama music…," Marie muttered. She said to Souji. "I am not going to play an instrument unless I have to, and no more acting…"

_You were playing an instrument at least once during your career, right?_

"Is there anything else?" Marie said. She started to look a little disappointed at what Souji was telling her in what Yasogami had to offer in terms of clubs. She crossed her arms to show her disappointment.

Souji sighed, "Well… not much else… There's a Science Club, an Art Club, and a Calligraphy Club." He shrugged. "We're not exactly a big school, you know?"

"It sounds like more classes… ick…," Marie mumbled. "And that Art Club… they would just ask Rise and I to pose nude over and over."

Souji rolled his eyes and muttered, "There's no pleasing you." He adjusted his collar. "The clubs would let you test them out, so you might change your mind if you take a tour or two…"

Marie looked uninterested in the choices, but Souji did not really care. It just meant his time to keep her interested was over. Marie started, but was interrupted "I don't think Rise will be interested in it regardless if I changed my mind abo…"

Souji thought that he and Marie would not be bothered too much in their tour because school had been out for a while, but two students had made their way from the class building.

_I didn't want to be bothered, but… I should have expected as much…_

One of the guys, tall, dark, and ugly moved towards Marie. She backed away one step when the guy moved forward to close the distance, "Marie-chan… you can't imagine how much I want to just talk to you…"

Marie rolled her dark eyes and responded, "Trust me… I can bet it's enough for you to waste your time to come here. I have no business here with you."

_Harsh…_

The second guy was better looking, but was kind of short. He stepped forward, undaunted by the first one's rejection, "Marie-chan… Marie-chan… you have to go to Okina with me. We can go wherever you want…"

Marie turned her attention to the other guy and said in her usual commanding voice, "There is definitely no "we" with you, or any infantile boy."

The first boy looked to the second boy, to Marie, and then to Souji. He looked back to Marie and said while gesturing at the silver-haired young man, "Then who is he?"

"Does it matter?" Marie answered. "He is doing something I told him to do."

The second boy looked to the first boy, "Really?"

Souji nodded, "Yeah…"

"So… I need you two to go so he can finish what I asked him to…," Marie told the guys.

_That sounds weird…_

The second boy made one last attempt, "Will you at least give us an auto…"

Marie interrupted his request with a swipe of her right arm, "No… I told you to go…"

"Fine… go have fun with your little playboy…," the first boy gestured at Souji.

The two boys left Marie and Souji's sight, muttering various unmentionable words while stomping ridiculously hard on the wooden floor… finally going back to the Classroom Building in an awful mood.

Marie's face was livid, "Jerkface… stupididiots…"

_Really harsh…_

Souji was not sure what to do next. He had gone through pretty much all of the clubs, and he was sure if the two of them just stood there more people would eventually find Marie. The last thing to do would be to just stand there like a statue because he thought Marie would just yell at him.

Souji focused his attention on Marie and asked, "So… what now?" He sighed. "Actually… why do you want a join a club again?"

Marie stepped closer to Souji. It made him kind of uncomfortable because she face-to-face with him, and in his bubble. She started, "Rise… and I want something out of school besides going to class and being mobbed by students." She closed her eyes for a second and then continued slower and softer than normal. "Occasionally, Rise goes to work at the tofu store to help her grandmother, but me… I don't have anywhere to go, but home."

_Oh… so Rise's grandmother works at the tofu store. Wait… Marie doesn't have anything to do._

"If this school wasn't so…," Marie had continued.

"You know…," Souji interjected. "You might be able to… you know… start your own club."

Marie's eyes opened wide, "Start my own club?"

"Yeah…. But there might be a…," Souji started, but was interrupted by Marie grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the double doors of the Drama Club and back towards the Classroom Building.

Marie roughly pulled Souji back into the Classroom Building, down the hallway, and finally dragged him down the stairs to the first floor in front of the shoeboxes and bulletin boards. "Hey… Kusumi-chan," Souji tried to get her to stop. "Stop… Are you trying to dislocate my shoulder?"

She stopped at Souji's request. She did not quite let go of Souji's arm, but loosened her grip slightly. She looked at Souji and said in a light tone, "Marie-chan…"

"What?" Souji looked confused.

"If you're going to say my name…," Marie said in the same quiet tone. "Use my first name… Marie-chan, not Kusumi-chan…"

"Oh… okay," Souji said, a little lost. "Marie-chan…"

Marie smiled at Souji… just for a second. She went back to looking determined and expectant the next second.

_Why do I get special treatment? Maybe Rise told her to be nicer for at least two seconds?_

"Where do we need to go to start a club?" Marie asked, going back to her normal, commanding voice.

"Do you remember where the Faculty Office is?" Souji asked. "We should go there…"

"The place where Rise and I went to find out where homeroom was?" Marie asked rhetorically. "I know where that is…"

Marie retightened her grip on Souji's arm and started pulling him away from the classrooms, shoeboxes, and bulletin boards on the first floor and towards the Faculty Office. Marie stopped right in front of the office and prepared to open the sliding door.

_Maybe she should knock… I don't see any movement behind the door, so maybe all this is for nothing._

Marie opened the door while letting go of Souji's arm at the same time. There was a teacher insider the Faculty Office. The teacher was sitting down in front of one of the few chairs of the office with his legs crossed, reading a magazine while ignoring the messy paper strewn on the desk beneath him. Souji recognized his blue pinstriped suit, his buckteeth, and his alopecia immediately.

_Of course the teacher inside would be King Moron…_

Mr. Morooka was so engrossed in the magazine that he did not even seem to notice Marie and Souji enter. Upon seeing the magazine that King Moron was reading, she poked Souji and whispered gleefully into his ear, "Senpai… that's a magazine that's all about Rise. Every picture in it is Rise…"

_Oh… that's nasty… I wonder how he'd act if Rise was in his homeroom?_

"I don't know what to say about that…," Souji whispered back. "It's just kind of creepy…"

Marie just smiled in return. Souji thought he should probably stop Morooka's weird perversion. Before he had a chance to say something, Marie started to talk in an overly formal tone that sounds phony, "Mr. Morooka… could I ask you something?"

Mr. Morooka, or King Moron, dropped the magazine in surprise… as if he did not expect a person to come in. He stood up quickly, looking as guilty as he had ever in his life, while at the same time somehow exuding an aura of anger. King Moron faced Marie, ignoring Souji completely for a moment… probably because he was a guy.

The buck-toothed teacher questioned, "What is it? Did this boy here take advantage of you?" Only after he finished his statement did he pay slight attention to Souji.

_Of course he imagines the worse possible situation…_

Marie looked at Souji with a smirk. For a second, Souji thought she might say something bad. However, she said to the teacher, "Actually, I wanted to start a club, and I was hoping you could help me… with the paperwork."

Mr. Morooka's face purpled. He said, "And what is the purpose of your club?"

Marie looked at Souji. He had no idea what this club was going to be about. This whole idea was decided by Marie alone less than five minutes ago. He was not the one who was thinking of starting a club; he had no plans of starting a club.

"The purpose of our club is to… find various activities and perform them to relieve or prevent our boredom...," Marie answered after a few seconds of thinking.

_What the hell?_

Marie noticed that Morooka was about to say something derogatory, so she added, "And… to stop the club members from doing things unsavory or sleazy by keeping them occupied."

King Moron looked a little more satisfied with Marie's second statement. He questioned, "Do you have a place to hold this club?"

_I was trying to say something about that, but… we were interrupted…_

"Do you have… the required five members?" Morooka finished.

_I should have mentioned that… Though, does the Basketball Club have five members?_

Marie was thinking for answers, but seemed lost for words. She started to fidget with her hat again while she attempted to think of what could fill what she did not know. Souji knew that King Moron would call her out soon enough, so he said, "We'll have five members in a day. I can have the list of members in that period of time."

"And your location?" King Moron asked.

"I'll put it down as soon as I get the paperwork," Souji replied.

Morooka did not really look satisfied with Souji's answers. He turned around to walk to the back of the Faculty Room to grab club paperwork. The paperwork was hiding between a couple of computers and other stacks of paper. Before he gave Souji the paperwork, he inquired, "Who's going to be your club advisor?"

Souji bit his lip. He did not really think about who should be the advisor. The idea for the club was so stupid that no teacher would be dumb enough to take on the job of being the club's advisor.

_Maybe… maybe… oh this is a stupid._

"I was hoping… that you could… be the advisor," Souji said.

Morooka's face purpled again, "Why should I be the advisor?"

Marie looked at Souji and answered before Souji could think of a reason, "It's because… Rise Kujikawa is going to be a member…"

One minute later, Marie and Souji walked out of the Faculty Office with the paperwork and one line filled out on the papers. It was the signature of King Moron, confirming he would be the advisor. Souji put the paperwork in the briefcase just in case Marie started dragging him somewhere again.

_So… why did I all of that for her? King Moron might treat me even more like crap now. We kind of blackmailed him._

Marie started walking back to the bulletin boards. He started following him, for a reason he was not sure why. He knew Nanako would be at home alone, but he felt a little tired of going home and doing the same thing over and over. Being dragged around for a day by a former idol… it was something different and that had to be the reason.

The two stopped in front of the bulletin boards and shoeboxes again. Souji stood opposite of Marie; he was facing the bulletin boards. Souji gave Marie an inquisitive look as he said, "What's next?"

Marie pulled on Souji's arm again as she smirked, "Let's find a location…"

_That's going to be a problem… She's got my arm again…_

"There isn't really an open club room available," Souji said. "Besides, I'm not exactly sure what kind of room you want for your club."

"Where is there a large club room with tables?" Marie questioned. "One that doesn't have a lot of extra crap already there."

_Tables…_

"Well… I think that the Calligraphy Club doesn't have a lot of stuff on their tables," Souji told her.

Marie smiled, "Let's go to the Calligraphy Club then…"

_Seriously?_

Souji was not dragged quite as much as he was forced to take Marie to the Calligraphy Club because she did not know where it was. He was back in the Practice Building after the mixed push and pull effort to get to the club. Marie let go of Souji's arm yet again and grabbed onto the door handle of the club room. She slid open the door and trespassed into their activities.

Inside the Calligraphy Club were two medium-length tables with five chairs set to each one. Each chair was inhabited by club members who were currently practicing calligraphy with long brushes partially covered in ink on parchment books. Only a couple members looked up when the door slid open and Marie stepped through; it seemed more fitting because they were doing club activities instead of looking at a Rise-centric magazine. Souji stood right behind Marie, not sure what she was about to do next.

Marie crossed her arms and announced to the club members, in a slightly louder than normal volume "Okay… guys and girls… I have something I need you to do…"

Every member who was not looking at Marie before was now looking at her. A young man that Souji guessed was the club president only because he was sitting at the head of one of the tables stood up and then walked forward. He said, "Kusumi-chan… Are you interested in joining the Calligraphy Club?"

Marie looked at Souji and then back to the president of the club. She ignored the mumblings of the other members and said, "Actually… I need you to leave this room and give it to me so I can use it for my club room."

"What…?" another male club member said. "Why would we give up the club room?"

A female club member said to another, "Is she serious?"

The club president looked at Marie, "And we should we give you our club room why? It doesn't matter if you're Mariko…"

_Oh crap… here it comes…_

Marie reached behind her with her right arm, grabbed Souji's right arm yet again, and pulled him forward. He released Souji and left him standing half a step ahead of her to the right.

"Do you recognize him?" Marie said, indicating Souji. "He's the Club President…"

_Wait… I'm the Club President? This is definitely not good._

"Wait a minute…," the president interrupted. "Who is he?"

A second-year girl with long hair that Souji recognized; she was in class 2-2 said to a few of the other members in the Calligraphy Club, "His name is Souji Seta. He's the strong and silent type… just without the "strong" part."

_I get no respect…_

"Yeah… whatever…," Marie said. "Anyways… if you don't give me the room… I'll have you boys here violate him in a way that would make um… Morooka… yeah… Morooka blush."

_Wait… what? What's happening?_

"Why would we violate him!?" the Club President looked very bothered. "Are you crazy?"

The gleeful look in Marie's eyes scared Souji as she ignored other male members of the Calligraphy Club echoing their President's opinion. She said, "It's because… everyone… everyone is my slave! They will all do my bidding!" At the end of her statement she uncrossed her hands and moved them to her hips.

_She is crazy…_

A third, somewhat unattractive, guy who was sitting near the girl who told them of Souji's identity said, "I think you've lost it Marie-chan… We don't have to listen to you…"

_Or… they're not as easily swayed…_

Souji felt Marie brush past him as she slowly walked towards the guy who spoke to her. The tension in the room started to grow as she neared and then started to bend down, until her head was nearly parallel with him; her face was bent and staring straight at him. It looked like her face was only a few inches from the guy. His composure looked like it was cracking as she was nearing, and one more action would shatter it.

"Oh… little boy, how about a little fun?" Marie said in a overly sweet voice.

The President looked like he was going to interject, but a shrug from Souji stopped the President from throwing ink on the hat-wearing girl.

_Why am I letting her do that? Her tight skirt could split… that might be hilarious, though._

"Uhh…," the young man who was being verbally abused by Marie was speechless. "…Fun?"

"Yeah… fun…," Marie said again. "You want to have fun… with me, right?"

He did not quite nod, most likely because he did not want to hit Marie in the face. Still, he gestured to confirm his wishes, "I want to have fun."

"Do you think everyone here wants to have a little fun with me?" Marie asked.

"Yeah…," he responded. "Fun…"

"Well… if you want that kind of fun…," Marie's smile rose. "I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" he asked, smiling.

_Manipulative…_

Marie moved closer and whispered into his ear, "I want you to leave… and take your stuff with you."

"Oh… okay…," the boy responded listlessly. Marie backed away as the guy proceeded to stand up and gather his briefcase and all of his materials for the Calligraphy Club. With arms full of brushes and other materials, he strode right past Marie and Souji with a hopeful smile on his face.

As soon as the slightly unattractive young man left the room, Marie straightened and looked around with a much more serious look on her face. She looked around for one second, bringing everyone into her view before focusing back on the President. She looked at him, "So… who's next?"

_They've lost… I really hope she's given up on using me…_

"You won't get away with this…," the President muttered as he picked up his brush and started to pick up his other various writing materials.

Marie smirked, "Anytime… anywhere…"

_She's like the devil, but I feel like she's just getting started._

Less then ten minutes later, besides for the two tables, ten chairs, and a few untouched pieces of parchments; there was nothing that would even imply that the Calligraphy Club had ever been there. Souji stood in the entryway, still slightly dumbfounded at Marie's ruthlessness, while the former idol stood at the back of the club room.

She turned around from her staring out of the windows of the club room to look at Souji. She proceeded to grab her hat and throw it on the nearest table. She said, "So… what do you think? Do you like the room?"

"Do you want my real feelings?" Souji responded.

Marie smirked, "Oh… you think if you give an unfavorable answer, I'll do something bad." She chuckled. "Well… never mind…" She continued with another question, "Do you think we need one table or two?"

Souji sighed, "I guess it depends on the amount of members you plan on having in this club…" He decided to change the subject. "You said earlier that I'm the President of this… whatever it's called… is that right?"

"You can take a table out if we don't get enough members to necessitate two tables…," Marie said. She proceeded to nod. "And yes… you are the President."

_Why? Why am I the President of something I didn't agree to? Is she doing this out of the fact I am supposed to be scared?_

Souji sighed again, "What now? Is there anything else you wanted to do today?"

_Anyone else you wanted to blackmail or torture? Anywhere else you are going to drag me?_

Marie shook her head, "Since it's so late, I don't think we can get anything else done. Though, I have your first task as President, due tomorrow."

"Seriously?" Souji looked at Marie unbelieving.

Marie nodded, "I want you to find our fourth and fifth members."

_Our third is Rise Kujikawa, obviously…_

Marie continued while Souji was thinking, "One of them has to have the ability to get stuff for our club room because it's empty."

_Well… who do I know who can hook them up for stuff?_

"Does it matter who it is?" Souji asked. "They might be a bit perverted when it comes to you and Rise-chan."

"No… not really," Marie answered. "It might make the club more interesting."

Souji pulled the paperwork and a pen out of his briefcase and reluctantly signed his name as the first member to indicate that he was not only a member, but also the President of the club. He said, "So… what happens if I can't get the two members by tomorrow?"

"Punishment…," Marie smiled wider than he had ever seen while at school.

_I should be scared…_

Souji did not want to ask what "punishment" meant, but he was sure he could get his target members to join in one way or another. He was sure there would be other actions Marie wanted of him, but Souji just did not care. It was getting late, and he needed to go home to help Nanako. He could only neglect her for so long.

_There is only one more important thing._

"Marie-chan…" Souji slid the paperwork and the pen towards Marie. He asked. "What's the name of our club?"

Marie stepped forward and took the pen. Bending down, she slowly signed her name, and then wrote something Souji did not recognize. Instead of sliding the papers back so Souji could read what she wrote as the club name, she straightened up and smiled. She said to the new President, "We are now the first members of the Boredom Relief Club."

2nd chapter down…

I just got a new laptop, which I am setting up tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3- Manipulation of the Prince of Junes**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. For those who are not typical students of Yasogami, I made up their ages and if you don't like the ages I decided… well you know my rule about it. I expect ethical respect from my readers and if you don't want to be a respectful reader, then go hit the back button.

P.S.: All sorts of OOC stuff. Persona rules on suffixes #2 Marie is a bit controlling…

_Souji's thoughts_

_I am so screwed…_

In just a few short hours, Souji had somehow been part of a mini blackmailing plot of a teacher. He helped expel a club from their room through devious means; he had been made President of a club by a former idol that he believed would make an excellent dominatrix someday. Now, he had been told to recruit two other members, or he would suffer "punishment". He had the right people in mind, but it still irked him beyond belief that she would consider punishing him for something insignificant like not being able to recruit the required members in one day.

In the end, that was the least of his worries, because Souji had something more important to do in the immediate future. He had neglected his younger cousin so he could do something else for once, but he never expected his after-school "event" at the school to last as long as it did. He needed to get home, and spend time with his cousin; if only for the reason that she would most likely to be home alone.

Souji's right arm hurt from being dragged around, but he hurried through the windy tree-filled Floodplains and Residential District all the same as if he was in tip-top shape. The white siding of the Dojima household and other homes nearby soon came into view as he walked quickly towards the dirt patch with what would could be considered a driveway. With his briefcase in his left hand, he used his sore hand to slide open the door to his temporary home.

He slipped his shoes off and called out to his cousin, "Nanako, I'm home…"

"Welcome back, Big bro…," Nanako called back.

"You're home late today, Souji…," Dojima unexpectedly called out.

_Dojima's home… now?_

Souji looked in the direction of Dojima's voice and saw his uncle in his dark collared shirt with the loosened red tie sitting at the coffee/breakfast table with today's newspaper and a cup of what was probably black coffee in front of him. Souji then looked to the kitchen and saw Nanako unwrapping various Junes items for dinner. She was wearing her summer uniform as well, a close to cream-colored tank top with a pink skirt.

"Yeah… I was late today," Souji said in response to Dojima's comment. "Sorry about that…"

"Oh… that's no problem," his uncle commented. "Just unexpected."

Souji nodded and then said, "You're home early today…"

"I just dumped all of my work on my assistant," Dojima explained. "It allowed me to head home early for once."

_His assistant… what was his name? Adachi? He should do that home often._

"You should do that more often…," Souji muttered to himself. He focused his attention to his cousin and asked, "Do you need any help with dinner?"

"No, that's okay Big bro…," Nanako replied. "You should relax."

Souji shut his eyes for a moment in frustration. He did not want Nanako to have to do this. Relaxing in the evening was not his job. He hurried home to take care of her, not the other way around.

Despite his frustration, he dumped his briefcase by the side table that held the telephone. He stepped past the burgundy couch and sat down in his usual seat across from where Nanako would sit when dinner was finished. With the TV remote in his hand, he turned on the news and for the first time in what seemed like forever… he waited for dinner to be made.

He had nearly fallen asleep before being pulled out of his drowsy bliss by a call from Nanako that the meal was ready. The news he had turned to was so boring that he would lost consciousness if not for his cousin, but he had no wish to change the channel. With lead-filled legs, he dragged himself back to his cousin and uncle to grab a makeshift plate of the Junes-heavy meal.

As the three sat or kneeled around the table, eating a meal that was far more processed than usual, Souji felt slightly out of place. Dojima was busy watching the news that nearly put Souji to sleep, while Nanako broke apart the chopsticks so she could begin to eat.

_This better not be a common occurrence… I feel… out of place._

Souji broke apart his own chopsticks and began to eat his meal. He started to eat his own meal. Usually, when he made the meals, only the fresh produce and base materials came from Junes. Tonight, almost everything was processed beyond belief by Junes. However, it was "prepared" by Nanako. No matter the taste, Souji… Souji had to be congenial.

Souji swallowed a bite of his meal and looked at his little cousin, "This is good, Nanako…" He kept as straight a face as possible. "Thanks for making dinner tonight…"

"Yeah…," Nanako smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Dojima chuckled, "Looks like your job of making dinner is in jeopardy, heh…"

_Tomorrow, when you don't come home until after Nanako is sleeping… I'll be making dinner with non-processed crap because I'll be there for her._

Nanako turned back to Souji and asked, "Did you have a good day, Big bro?"

"Me?" Souji questioned to himself. After half a second, he answered Nanako. "I joined a club today."

_I "joined" a club. I definitely am not the "President", or the creator or anything like that. Marie can take that role._

"You joined a club?" Nanako said. "We talked about clubs in school. It sounds like a lot of fun to be in one."

_Yeah… it's going to be a barrel of fun… if I knew what in the world we're going to be doing…_

"So… what club did you join?" Dojima asked, now ignoring the news on the TV.

Souji took a deep breath. He was hoping he did not have to try and explain the Boredom Relief Club to anyone... until tomorrow. Souji exhaled and explained, "It's a newly formed club. It's a club formed to help people find something to do in their free time… or something like that…"

_That just sounds stupid…_ _what's the purpose of our club? It can't be the excuse we gave King Moron._

"It looks like you will be busy," Dojima gave his observations. "You should enjoy your time in high school. It's not all about studying."

_Like I ever studied in the first place… Still…_

"Thanks," Souji nodded. "I appreciate your support…"

"There you are, being formal again…," Dojima shook his head at Souji's mannerisms. "Loosen up a little…"

_Okay… I'll go against your wishes and take Nanako out well past when you thinks she should be out. Is that loosening up?_

After dinner, Souji took away and did the dishes; Dojima went back to the reading the newspaper while Nanako watched a quiz show where an incorrect answer earned you something you definitely did not want to suffer. Dojima wanted him to relax and take things easy, but he would not; he could not do something like relax.

Sleep did not come easy for Souji that night. He had even looked over his homework before he put his head on the futon. However, he had far too much on his mind to sleep, or do something like dream. His thoughts were plagued of tomorrow, and what might happen regardless of him achieving his required goal. There was one thing he could count on; it was that he would not be bored tomorrow.

_For better or worse…_

The next morning, Souji was a little groggy when he woke to Nanako's calling him down for breakfast; it was probably due to lack of sleep. He was haphazard in his way of washing his face, and dressing because he did it half-asleep. He stumbled down the stairs and ate in dreary silence.

Only after he finished his toast was he cognizant enough to speak, "Morning, Nanako…"

"Good morning, Big bro…" Nanako responded. "You look tired…"

"Just a little bit…," Souji admitted.

_A little tired… ha…_

With his cousin by his side, he headed out the door and out of the Residential District. He left Nanako behind as he made his way through the Samegawa Floodplains and the intersection of the Shopping District where Yasogami High lie. As he neared the iron gates, Souji realized there was one more reason he could not sleep last night. Though he should be able to recruit the fourth and fifth member of this club without too much difficulty, he had no idea what would happen to them once Marie sunk her teeth into them.

_She wanted someone who had connections… connections to get stuff. So much so, that she didn't care what kind of person they were… This is going to suck. I wonder if his appreciation with idols will damper his anger for being used…_

Even though Souji's awareness had risen due to the ingestion of the food prepared for him by Nanako, he still barely made it to his homeroom before the bell. Yukiko again, was at school. He also noticed that Yosuke was already in his seat, not attempting to pander after one of the idols today.

_Maybe Yukiko will wait until after school to rush off and help at the inn. I wonder if Marie scared all of the fans off…_

Souji had a minute or two before the bell rang to start his arduous mission, so after he placed his briefcase against his desk; he turned his half of his body around to face Yosuke. The brown-haired Yosuke looked like he had pedaled his bike into a trashcan; his head rested sideways against one of his crossed arms, his right ear facing the ceiling.

"Hey…," Souji greeted unceremoniously.

"Yo…," Yosuke replied; he looked tired.

Souji needed to hurry, so he asked, "Hey Yosuke, are you working today?"

Yosuke answered, "Not until this evening… what's up?" he continued. "Do you want to hang out or something?"

_Here goes nothing…_

"You see…," Souji started. "There's this club…"

Yosuke cut him off, "You know I work too much to join a club…"

Souji shook his head. He tried to keep his mind alert and focused as he explained, "It's a different kind of club. It's one I want you and Teddie to join. It's one that you wouldn't have to be at every day."

_Unless Marie makes some weird rule… Though, aren't I supposed to be the President? Though, that probably means nothing in her eyes…_

"Still…," Yosuke said. "I don't think I'll have the time…"

_Time to pull out the kicker…_

"The thing is…," Souji said. "The club only has three members right now, and two of them are girls. I know that would interest Teddie…"

"You aren't doing a very good job persuading me because you haven't told me what kind of club it is," Yosuke replied. He continued in a different tone. "Though… Teddie would like the female ratio… if there were more girls."

Souji cleared his throat, "It's basically a club that does whatever it wants… it just does stuff so the members don't get bored."

_I never know what to say when I'm explaining this club._

"That sounds…," Yosuke started.

Souji interrupted him, "I never finished my earlier statement." He breathed in and exhaled before he said. "The two girls in the club… they're Risette and Mariko." He hated using the idol names because they sounded stupid.

Yosuke's beat down eyes lit up slightly at the mention of the two ex-idols. He looked a little disbelieving as he asked, "Both Mariko and Risette are in the same club?"

"Well, as of today… yes," Souji answered.

_Let's see if he changes his tune…_

"Are you telling the truth about me not having to be there every day?" Yosuke asked while shifting his head from one arm to the other, therefore turning his head from one side to the other.

Souji held up a hand, palm up, "My law as President…"

_Until it's overruled…_

Yosuke murmured, "I think I can show up for a little bit today…"

_That's one down…_

"And Teddie?" Souji inquired. "Do you think he'll join?"

Yosuke gave an unorthodox nod from the position he was in, "I'll talk to him during lunch."

_Two down…_

"I'll wait for you guys outside the old English Classroom in the Practice Building after classes are out then," Souji told him.

"Mariko and Risette better be there…," Yosuke muttered.

_Marie… I see no reason why she would not be there. Rise? Marie couldn't drag her there?_

Souji was going to reassure Yosuke regardless, but before he could, the familiar voice of Chie interjected, "What about Mariko and Risette?"

_This is something I wasn't planning on dealing with… I'm not Marie…_

Souji turned to face Chie, who had sat down at some point during the silver-haired young man's conversation with Yosuke. He took a deep breath as he looked at the brunette with the bowl cut, trying to decide what to tell her. He decided to chicken out and give an indecisive answer. He said, "It's complicated…"

"Is Yosuke being a pervert?" Chie ignored Souji's poor wordings.

"Well… sort of… maybe," Souji did not want to get his friend into too much trouble. "He's just being Yosuke."

"If he starts being a pervert…," Chie began.

Souji finished her statement, "I'll let you deal with him."

The bell rang before any more conversation between Chie and Souji could take place. Morooka was in a bad mood today, and he seemed to take it all out on Souji understandably. Though Marie was the instigator, Souji was there with her when it took place. She caught King Moron with the Rise magazine, so Souji was paying the price with twice the tongue lashings and subtle attacks that Morooka received in embarrassment.

The rest of the day before lunch was as to be expected, boring and asinine. When lunch bells rang, Yosuke left his desk, but gave a slight nod to Souji. For the first time in a few days, Souji knew he was not heading down to try and get a hold of either Marie or Rise. If he could convince Teddie, then Yosuke could see Rise and Marie as often as his work schedule allowed.

_They might even start skipping work… no, that might look bad for the son of the manager to skip his work._

The silver-haired young man ate his lunch at his desk for once. He hoped it would energize him, not for after lunch classes, but for after school. Sadly, when the bell rang and Yosuke rushed back into his seat barely beating out Ms. Sofue… Souji still felt sluggish.

He did not pay much attention during his later classes, focusing his thoughts on what would come. He would not have paid much attention, regardless, but he had a different reason to be distracted today.

_Let's see what happens… to me… and Yosuke and Teddie… if they come._

After the bells for the final classes of the day rang, Chie stood up and left to speak with Yukiko. Souji ignored Yosuke for the moment, who had slipped out of the back door of 2-2; he just had to believe that they would show up. Souji watched Yukiko hold her briefcase in front of her body and bow with a regretful expression on her face. Chie put up her hands and make a motion like it was okay. Yukiko started to walk away, leaving Chie behind.

_I wonder if Chie asked her to do something and Yukiko had something to do at the inn._

He stood up as Chie looked back with a wistful expression on her face. It was not the first time she had left behind by Yukiko because of her work. All of her acquaintances, Souji included, had been left because of her commitments at the family inn.

All the silver-haired young man could do is walk over to Chie with his own school briefcase in hand. After he was close enough, he asked the requisite question, "Did Yukiko have to go help at the inn again?"

Chie turned enough to see Souji and responded, "Uh huh… She said she had errands to run before a big party arrived."

Souji thought of what he could say to try and sooth the situation, "She won't be as busy in a few weeks. Actually, I think she won't have as much time to help out…"

"Why is that?" Chie asked.

"Exams…," Souji explained.

Chie's face fell even more, "You had to remind me about that… None of us will have time to do anything…"

_I will… I won't have to study…_

"I'm sure she will help you study, at the least," Souji assured her. "We can go from there."

Chie nodded, "Your right…"

_I guess I'm learning from Marie. I've got to stop hanging around her._

Souji bid her farewell, knowing that he was supposed to meet Yosuke and Teddie outside of the club room. Before he could leave 2-2, Chie stopped him. She reached out her hand and asked, "You'll help me study, too? I need help in… everything."

"Sure…," Souji smiled.

Souji probably should help Chie study. It was a better use of his time than just sitting around doing nothing. As long as he got home in time… well, he was sure he would get in home in time to do what was most important to him.

Souji sped up as he rushed out of the Classroom buildings and into the Practice Building. His time spent in the classroom with Chie took a lot of time, and he was not sure if Yosuke and Teddie would wait around if he was late. He passed a few students heading for the Drama Club, including a solemn, brooding second-year girl that Souji had seen only a few times. When he reached the old English Classroom, Yosuke and Teddie were indeed waiting for him. Teddie had somewhat of an impatient look on his face, while Yosuke looked passive. Souji stopped a few steps away from the pair acknowledging their presence at the same time.

_Here goes nothing…_

"Hey guys…," Souji greeted.

"Hey…," Yosuke responded. He looked at the closed doors of the club room and then back at Souji and then said. "I thought this was the Calligraphy Club's room? What gives?"

"Well… it was…," Souji said slowly.

"Was?" Yosuke looked slightly confused.

"Does it matter?" Teddie said. He looked to Souji, "You said Rise-chan and Marie-chan are in the club?"

Souji nodded, "Indeed…"

"Well… what are we waiting for?" Teddie asked the pair. "Idols!"

Teddie moved to the door. Yosuke looked to Souji and said, "I can't say I'm not excited. It's Risette. Not to say I'm not interested in Mariko either…"

Teddie opened the door and waiting for him was Marie standing behind one of the long tables with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression. There was no sign of Rise, as long as his vision was blocked by Teddie.

_Maybe once he gets out of the way…_

"Marie-chan!" Teddie yelled out as he tried to maneuver around the table.

_Do you have a death wish?_

The blond-haired Teddie never got to Marie as the girl with the sleeveless blouse stepped back and pushed the chair that was in front of her to block Teddie's path. With the chair now impeding his path, the blond-haired playboy blindly ran into it, nearly falling over.

"Marie-chan…," Teddie called out in anguish as he struggled to free himself from the chair.

The annoyed look remained as she remarked, "You… don't get to call me Marie-chan." She looked up and upon seeing Yosuke, her look turned from annoyance to one of satisfaction.

Yosuke looked to Teddie who was slowly extricating himself from the chair, and then to Marie. He took a couple steps into the room and said, "So… if you don't want to be called Marie-chan…"

"You can call me Kusumi-chan…," Marie answered.

"Okay… Kusumi-chan…," Yosuke said, "Is Rise-chan here?"

Souji, meanwhile, stepped into the room. He looked to his left and noticed one of the tables had been removed, but the five chairs remained. He then looked to his far right, and sitting in the corner was the petite girl with red pigtails running down to her shoulders. She had taken a chair and was busy reading a handout from school.

"Last time I checked, she's here…," Souji said to Yosuke.

"Hi…," Rise directed her comment to Yosuke.

Yosuke looked in the direction of the voice and his eyes lit up. His smile grew wide, "I can't believe it… it's Risette." He started looking at her up and down, muttering. "Those long legs, that skin, and that…"

Marie cut off Yosuke, "Okay you pervert… you can ogle Rise later."

Yosuke turned away in half-annoyance, half-embarrassment. At the same time, Souji said to Rise, "That's just Yosuke…"

Rise began to chuckle after Souji's comment. She stopped for a second after all of the others turned to look at her. She commented, "You two are funny."

_If Yosuke's funny… then she'll find Teddie to be a barrel of laughs…_

Teddie focused his attention to Rise, "Can we call you Rise-chan? Or… are you mean like Kusumi-chan?"

_Calling Marie mean?_

Rise nodded, "I don't mind…"

"Yay!" Teddie exclaimed. He attempted to move towards Rise with his arms outstretched. Marie sensed trouble, so she kicked the chair that had impeded him earlier, knocking him over again. Teddie looked back. "You're so cruel…"

Marie cleared her throat. "Anyways, Souji-senpai… you brought two members, good job."

Souji nodded, "It's what you asked for… Marie-chan."

Teddie looked up from being knocked over the second time, "He gets to call you Marie-chan!?"

"Teddie has a point…," Yosuke said.

Marie shrugged, "Souji-senpai isn't a pervert, so he gets to call me by my first." She uncrossed her arms and pointing at the piece of paper on the table. "This is the paperwork for the club. You have to sign it if you want to join our club. We need you two to reach five."

_I guess Rise already signed it then…_

Yosuke pursed his lips and then said, "Alright… as long as we can come when whenever we're available. We have to work some of these days."

Yosuke moved to sign the sheet and Teddie proceeded to do the same with the pen that was near the paperwork. After the two signatures were placed on the club paperwork, Marie grabbed the papers and put them in her own briefcase.

Marie set her briefcase back beneath the table, so she would not trip over it. She moved around the table and said to Souji, "Since you succeeded in what I asked, no punishment…"

_I guess I should be glad…_

"Well… there's something I want to know," Souji pursed his lips. "What exactly is my job here as the President? You look like you would make the better President, Marie-chan."

Marie shook her head and said, "No… too much pressure."

_Pressure…_

She lifted her right hand and pointed her index finger right at Souji, "Your job… is to figure out what exactly the club should do each time we meet…"

_I have to decide our individual agenda for each day… I guess that sounds like a Presidential kind of job._

"And if you don't figure out things for us to do…," Marie added with a smirk. "Punishment time for Souji-senpai…"

"What sort of punishments are we talking about?" Yosuke asked. He had a sort of gleam in his eye like he might want to be a part of whatever punishment was involved.

Marie took her dark blue hat off and threw it at Yosuke, hitting him in the face. She muttered, "Pervert…" While Yosuke cursed, her neck swiveled to face Souji again. She was seemed to be in thought as she tilted her head slightly to the left, while keeping her eyes on the President of the club. Finally, she said. "I could… have you confess your love to all of the teachers… male, and female."

_What!?_

"That's insane!" Yosuke exclaimed. "Who would want to confess their love for King Moron?"

"Oh… I'm sure he'll be just fine," Marie said, while only half playing attention. She continued. "How about having you run around the campus completely naked… Work on that cardio…"

_Is she crazy?_

"Marie-chan…," Rise cut in. "It's not very nice to tease him."

"Oh…," Marie ignored Rise. "How about… I take over the PA system and announce to the whole school about your cousin complex!"

_My… what!?_

"Souji has a cousin complex?" Teddie said. He was now standing next to Yosuke, fearing another chair attack.

"Of course he does," Marie confirmed. "He was the only one who brought a little kid with him at our concert a few days ago, and it was your cousin!"

_Damn it… Marie…_

"I thought he was just being nice…," Yosuke said. "Who knew…?"

_Yosuke…_

"Okay… okay…," Marie chuckled. "Maybe… you would like to see everyone suffer."

_What?_

"What do you mean?" Souji raised an eyebrow. "You know I wouldn't…"

"How about…," Marie explained. "You make out with Rise while Yosuke and Teddie watch."

_She's insane… insane… I mean… kissing someone like her probably wouldn't be the worst thing, but it definitely wouldn't be consensual._

"That's not happening, Marie…," Rise lowered her reading material. "You know that."

Marie laughed again, taking in the bewildered faces of Yosuke and Teddie. She said to the other former idol, "You know I wouldn't force Souji to do that…"

Rise nodded and went back to her reading. Yosuke and Teddie's faces softened slightly, but Souji just looked annoyed. He was being threatened by crazy and outlandish punishments if he could not think of what the group should do on a daily basis.

"Marie-chan…," Souji said in a sharp tone. "I'm sure you didn't have me bring the new members just so you could tell them what would happen if I fail in figuring out what to do the next club meeting…"

Marie nodded. She reached under the table and grabbed her briefcase again. She walked over to Yosuke, who backed away slightly. The dark-haired girl picked up the hat she had previously thrown at him for saying perverse words at Rise and put it back on her head. After adjusting the hat, she asked him, "Say… Senpai… what do you notice about this room?"

"Me?" Yosuke said. He looked around the barren room with ten chairs and a single table. He eventually said, "It's empty… besides the chairs and table."

Marie lifted her right hand and then made a swishing motion by moving her wrist up and down while she lowered her arm quickly. "Exacly…," she replied. "It's empty…" She questioned, "You have connections, right?"

"Connections?" Yosuke had a confused look on his face. "I work at Junes, but connections? I don't have connections."

_You're the manager's son… Of course you do… But… I'm sorry about this…_

"I'm sure you can get me some of the things I need…," Marie smiled. She reached into her school briefcase and pulled out a long list. "You can help me… I know it."

_That's a long list…_

Marie handed the list over to Yosuke who gave it a quick glance. His eyes widened at the size and apparently… what was on the list. He exclaimed, "Did you even pay attention to what was on this list!? These things aren't cheap! How are we supposed to get these things?"

"Well… you have connections…," Marie reiterated.

"And who is supposed to pay for it!?" Yosuke questioned. "A large TV? A game system?"

"You have connections, don't you?" Marie said yet again.

_Damn…_

"You want me to pay for it!?" Yosuke looked beyond annoyed now. "Are you out of mind!?" He turned to Souji. "Is this why you asked me to join?"

Souji gulped and tried to lie, "No… not really…" Yosuke just glared at him.

Marie answered Yosuke's previous question, "Your friend works at Junes, doesn't he? He can help…"

Teddie's face turned to one of sadness, "You want me to pay for the decorations, Kusumi-chan? But, I need that money for snacks and dates with Rise-chan…"

Marie rolled her eyes. She muttered, "I knew this would be difficult."

Yosuke looked at Souji sideways and said, "I'm not going to pay for the club's materials…"

Marie looked at Souji for just a second and smirked. She stepped closer and closer to Yosuke until he was forced to step back. Marie lifted her right and as her right fingers started to brush against the bottom of Yosuke's mandible, she said in her most seductive voice, "Senpai… why won't you help me?" Using her the back of her hand, she brushed his cheek slowly. "Senpai… you want to make me happy, don't you? You want to see me smile, right? You want Rise-chan to be happy don't you?"

_She's doing it again… Yosuke is screwed._

Yosuke seemed dumbfounded by what Marie was doing to him. He was completely under her control. Marie lifted her hand away from Yosuke as he said slowly, "I want you to be… happy. I want Rise-chan… to be happy."

Marie nodded, "You're right… because if I'm happy, then I can do a lot more for you…" She looked at the blond-haired boy standing nearby, "And for Teddie…"

_That's not happening for you… and that's definitely not happening for Teddie._

Before Yosuke could eke out a response, Rise put away her reading material and stood up. She looked at Souji and Marie and said, "I have to go help my grandmother, so I'll see you guys tomorrow."

_So, I guess we're meeting tomorrow?_

Souji nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow then." Marie said nothing because she was busy working on Yosuke and Teddie.

"Yep…," Rise nodded.

As Rise slid open the door, Souji said quietly to not bother Marie's work with Yosuke and Teddie, "Where are you helping out again?"

Rise gave a small smile, "Marukyu Tofu, in the Southern Shopping District…" She then proceeded out the door.

At the same time, Yosuke said in the same slow voice, "Okay… I'll try and get as much on the list as I can. I can't bring it to you until tomorrow at the earliest."

Teddie said in a slightly more excited tone, "We'll do our best for you, Kusumi-chan!"

_She got him…_

Souji shook his head and started towards the door of the club. Before he could reach it to slide it open, Marie reached out in a more natural tone, "Souji-senpai… help bring the stuff back from Junes tomorrow. If you do that, we'll just spend that day…"

"With me setting it up…," Souji finished.

He left the room without looking at Marie, but he had a sinking feeling that she was smiling internally and externally.

_So… should I just go home?_

After he walked away from what was the old English Classroom and the Practice Building, Souji changed his shoes and left Yasogami High. He passed the gates outside of the school and as he moved down the hill, Souji had a decision to make about what he consider to be more important than be threatened by a girl to have to confess undying love to teachers.

_Would it be more efficient to go home from the Shopping District, or the Floodplains? I should really get back to Nanako as soon as I can. The distances are about the same, but with a Northwestern wind… there would be less wind blockage going through the Floodplains because the trees don't block the wind on the way back. There are buildings blocking the wind in the Shopping District._

"I guess I should go through the Shopping District…," Souji said to himself.

He planned to take the turn from the School Zone to the Shopping District, but five steps on the level ground… he saw the skirt, blouse, and long legs of a beautiful girl with dark red ponytails. He wanted to hurry, but then he would have to talk to her. It would not be a bad thing to talk to her, but… on the other hand.

_How could I forget that Rise was headed to the Shopping District? I'm an idiot…_

Souji slowed his pace just enough that he would not overtake her right away; he did not want to look like he was about to attack her. He also did not slow it enough to make it look like he was going to stalk her; he needed to get home soon. Regardless of his rapid change of tempo, he was still almost upon Rise in less than thirty seconds. "Rise-chan…," Souji said just before he came side-by-side with her walking pace.

She turned her head just enough to look at Souji and said with a concerned look, "You should have said something earlier. You could have been someone else because you started walking fast, and then you slowed down. What if you were a stalker or something?"

"Sorry…," Souji apologized. He tried to explain. "I was in a hurry, and then I noticed you. I thought I should slow down so I don't freak you out. I didn't want to go too slow because then you would think I was stalking you."

Rise shook her head slightly, "You didn't have to give such a detailed explanation. It's fine… You're Souji-senpai, not a stalker."

"Right…," Souji nodded. He took a breath. "I'm sorry about all of the… how should I say this… ridiculous… that's going on this club so far. I'm sure…"

Rise chuckled, "That's just Marie being Marie."

_Marie being Marie…_

"Half the time… she isn't being serious…," she continued.

"What do you mean?" Souji asked. "I mean she told me that my punishment would be to have to…"

"That was definitely a joke to rile us up," Rise raised an eyebrow. "The rest of them…"

_Maybe not?_

Souji was not sure what he should think. Rise said that Marie was not completely serious all the time with her punishments. He was still worried about what the dark-haired former idol could think of, though.

Rise added, "Though… if the punishment involves her… or something seductive… then you should be worried."

_If it involves her…_

"Yeah… she's good at the seductive stuff," Souji said, walking into the Shopping District. "She's used that skill to get the club room from another club, and then again to get Yosuke and Teddie to buy whatever for the club."

"That's what she usually does when she wants something," Rise explained. "Well… you don't want her truly angry at you."

_Probably not… I don't want to talk about this much more…_

Souji tried to change the subject slightly, "Did you two get along… well… when you were…"

Rise stopped in from of the blacksmith, Daidara's, forcing Souji to stop along with her. Her legs were spread out slightly farther apart than her shoulders. With her bag behind her back, she took a breath and then said, "We got along… sometimes. Well, we got along better than either of us did with Kanami. That little kid was just full of herself. Marie was full of herself… most of the time"

_Rise is pretty funny…_

"I hope it all works out after your career, too," Souji switched his bag from one hand to the next. "Club withstanding, I also hope we can make you feel welcome here."

Rise's smile was wider than Souji had ever seen her since he's seen her. She told him, "As long as you make me feel welcome, we should be fine. Okay, Senpai?"

Souji nodded. The two started walking, and a few steps later came upon a weird blue door he had never seen before. He looked to Rise, and before he could ask, she said to him. "That leads to Marie's place. It's all underground… like…" She could not quite find the right words.

"A bomb shelter?" Souji finished.

_This must be really, really new… They built the whole new place in a day? There's no windows… who wants to live in that place._

Rise nodded. "I think the people she's living with were living there before, but there wasn't this entrance until Marie asked for it."

"Why an entrance here?" Souji looked confused.

"It's easier to get to school from this entrance…," Rise explained. "And… I guess because it's close to Marukyu." She pointed to the building next to the blue door.

The building next to the blue door was a sturdy old building with a label over the sliding doors that read, Marukyu Tofu. It was where Rise both lived and helped out her grandmother, apparently.

"So, that's where you live," Souji inhaled and then exhaled, starting to speak halfway through his exhalation. He tried to stifle a chuckle. "I'll make sure not to tell Teddie where you live."

Rise had less success in hiding her smile, "Good luck with that…" She started moving away from Marie's supposed adobe and towards Marukyu Tofu.

_She seems a lot nicer than Marie. At least, she smiles more._

He watched Rise disappear into both her work and home, and then prepare to quickly leave the Shopping District and reach the Dojima Household. Before he could step away, Souji saw a girl in a casual pink kimono step out of Marukyu Tofu with a large bag of tofu in her right hand. He recognized the girl immediately by her long black hair. She turned her head and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Souji.

_There goes my chance of getting home quickly. I should have left through the Floodplains._

Yukiko took a few steps towards Souji and stopped. She looked extremely prim and proper with her graceful yet straight posture. Her dark eyes stared straight at Souji as she greeted him, "Hello, Souji…"

"Hello, Yukiko…," Souji returned the greeting, using her first name only like he usually did. He may not be extremely close with her, but close enough that they were both on first name basis. She was at least closer with him than she was with Yosuke.

"What brings you out here today?" Yukiko asked.

Souji shifted his weight slightly, "I was on my way home, and I thought it might be faster."

"I see...," Yukiko said. Her look changed as she inquired, "Did that involve walking part way back with a girl?"

_She obviously must have seen Rise enter before she left Marukyu._

Souji bit his lip before he answered, "She's just a club member of a club we're in and we ended up going in the same direction as I was heading home."

"Oh, I believe you…," Yukiko said. "I just didn't know you were in a club."

"Yeah… I just joined one…," Souji explained. He changed the subject. "So, did you come here for the inn?"

Yukiko nodded, "I did…" She looked a little down. "I had to get more tofu for the chefs. There is such a big group coming in that we will probably need more."

Souji changed the topic a little again, "I'm sure you can come hang out with Chie sometime soon." He smiled slightly. "I'm sure she'll need help studying for the next exam, at that."

"You're right… we can study together," Yukiko said. "I'd like that."

"That sounds like it would be a good time," Souji agreed.

_As long as Yosuke doesn't call it Private Lessons._

Yukiko checked her watch and her perfect posture vanished. She took a step or two to leave, and said, "I need to get back… I'll see you at school." She stepped past Souji and towards the bus stop, but before she was more than five steps away from Souji, she said, "Could you tell Chie that… that I'm sorry…"

Souji responded, "I will…"

_You might see her first…_

Yukiko left Souji behind, and Souji hurried down and away from the Southern and Northern Shopping District. He went through the Residential District and into the Dojima Household. He slid open the door, quickly threw off his shoes, and smelled something… unsavory.

_What's cooking? Or… is the house on fire?_

Souji called out cautiously, "Hello?"

From the kitchen, Souji heard, "Welcome back, Big bro!"

_Is Nanako cooking? Am I that late again?_

Souji moved over to the kitchen and saw Nanako had started making dinner without him. There was a burner going with a mixture in a pot. There were whole vegetables on a cutting board off to the side. She was obviously waiting for someone else to cut them because her dad would not let her use a sharp knife like that.

"Do you want some help?" Souji asked.

"Yeah!" Nanako agreed. "I wanted to surprise you…"

Souji told her, "Let me just wash my hands, and I'll help you out."

After he washed his hands, he walked over to the kitchen. Nanako stepped slightly over to the side so Souji could get to the cutting board. Even from where he was standing, Souji could see the mixture; he saw that the ingredients and the ratios of the correct ingredients were all wrong.

_Oh no…_

He knew he had to keep his mouth shut about the fact that it was probably going to be a disaster. He took out a knife and started chopping up all of the vegetables. After he finished, he had Nanako step back so he could dump the pieces in the pot. He had Nanako stir the questionable mixture with the heat she had forgotten to turn on, now on.

"Thanks, Big bro…," Nanako said as she stirred the pot.

"Of course…," Souji said. "You made this for me."

"I just wanted to help you out, and give you a break," Nanako explained.

"Thank you…," Souji said.

_I really should have gotten here faster…_

By the time it was finished, the dish looked nothing like it was supposed to. Souji was really regretting taking the Shopping District path to get home.

_Whatever it tastes like… it's good. It's Nanako's dish._

I know it went kind of slow, but next chapter will actually be moving ahead a few days…

Next Chapter: Red, Green, and a little bit of Studying.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4- Red, Green, and a little bit of Studying**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. For those who are not typical students of Yasogami, I made up their ages and if you don't like the ages I decided… well you know my rule about it. I expect ethical respect from my readers, but if you don't want to be a respectful reader; I want you to hit the back button.

P.S.: All sorts of OOC stuff. Persona rules on suffixes #3 Tofu Rise for now…

P.S.S.: You are free to give suggestions on pairings or whatever…

_Souji's thoughts_

_**Few weeks later: Thursday- Just after school**_

_**Old English Classroom: Boredom Relief Club Room**_

Souji would not have guessed, looking at the club room he was in now, that it was almost completely barren only a few weeks ago. With selective coercing by the "true" President, Marie, the club was able to acquire so many items that the supposed President should not have any trouble figuring out things for the group to do. In the room, there were countless board games stacked off to the far side. The new TV and the latest game system, which were on a rental basis due to its high price, were lying next to the long table with two of its chairs in prime location for multiplayer games. A tablet was also lying at the head of the table, which was mainly supposed to be used for research… supposedly Souji's research for new things to do. It was usually used for surfing the web by Teddie. Various sports equipment lined the room, but Marie and Rise did not really look like the sports-playing types… even if they were very much in shape. Odds and ends lined the room, the oddest being what looked like extremely intricate laser equipment. These were only a few of the things in the club room after Marie seduced and persuaded Yosuke to obtain these items for their club.

Yosuke still held a slight grudge against Souji. He believed that Souji only asked him to join the club so Marie could convince him to get everything for the club, not to be in a club with Marie and Rise like Souji explained originally. Souji did feel slightly guilty for asking Yosuke to join something that ended up being so disadvantageous for him, but he did feel like it would be useful for him in the long run.

Currently, Souji was sitting at the table playing one of the many board games with Yosuke, Teddie, and Rise while waiting for Marie. He was sitting across from Rise, and diagonally from Yosuke. They were playing the game called Trouble. It was becoming an extremely frustrating game for Souji. Yosuke was green, Teddie was blue, and Rise was red; Souji was forced to be yellow. He was forced because he the last one to get there, and that was because King Moron stopped him in the hallway and warned him not to do anything perverse with the girls in the new club.

Back at the game, Souji was the only person with only one peg in the end column, Rise and the others had three. At least it was Souji's turn, and if he threw a five, he could get another peg in the final column and then proceed on getting another peg closer. His other two pegs were close to putting them in the line, but not close enough compared to Yosuke, Teddie, and Rise.

_Here goes nothing…_

Souji closed his eyes threw the die. He knew it was not that important of a throw, and that he had probably already lost the game, but he still at least wanted to make the game respectable. He could hear the die roll and then stop. He opened his eyes and looked down; it showed four pips.

_Damn…_

Souji silently moved his closest peg up four spots; he was cursing inwardly. He knew the others were smiling at his struggles; he just knew. He lowered his head slightly just so he could not see their faces.

Rise said in his direction, "That's bad luck, Senpai. It's a game of chance, you know…"

Yosuke shook his head, "You can still make a lot of decisions despite a dice roll deciding how far you can move your pegs. There are strategies in this game."

"Doesn't matter if you roll six to eight "ones" in a row," Souji muttered.

"So, what are we playing for today/'" Teddie asked, oblivious to Souji's comment.

"We're playing for something?" Rise asked; she looked a little concerned by Teddie's comment.

Souji believed that the only reason Teddie asked was because the person most likely to win at this very moment was the blond-haired young man with the frilly white shirt. Unless Teddie had a bunch of poor rolls, and then had high rolls when he neared the final column; Teddie would win.

"I thought the person who wins gets to go on a date with Rise-chan?" Teddie questioned.

Souji shook his head. They did not agree on any of this; it's something Rise would not agree with either.

_Only a person like Teddie would think of something like this… We did not decide on a prize at all._

Even Yosuke did not seem to think it looked like a good idea as he shook his head at the idea. He muttered, "You're being ridiculous, Teddie…"

"I thought it was the last place person had to buy the winner had to buy you lunch at Junes," Rise said, making up a prize for winning on the fly. Souji did not think she wanted to go on a date with Teddie.

Teddie looked disappointed, but looked at Souji expectantly. He looked like he was out for blood; he looked like he was ready for Souji to buy him lunch.

_Whatever… I just have to go for a miracle comeback and catch one of the others._

The game continued, but Souji's luck did not change. He was still losing badly, and Teddie was one roll from victory. He was not even close to catching Rise or Yosuke. Souji would buying lunch for Teddie if the blond rolled a three. Teddie prepared to roll, Souji did not want to look.

_I don't want to buy him lunch…_

Before Teddie could roll, the club door abruptly slid open and the girl Souji considered the "real" president came in with horizontally-striped black and white socks walked in with a concerned look on her face. Marie strode right up to the table where the four other members were playing and stopped right in front of the table, putting her hands on the desk. She looked right at Souji and her face turned to a mixture of concerned and annoyed.

"Souji-senpai!" she exclaimed.

Souji looked slightly confused at Marie's exclamation. He did not know why she burst into the room like that.

"Yes?" Souji said.

"Why didn't you tell me there were exams starting on Monday!?" Marie questioned.

"Wait?" Yosuke interjected. "How could you not know exams were next week?"

"Yeah…," Rise agreed with Yosuke as she said. "It's not like the teachers didn't keep telling us that certain things would be on exams each day for the past couple of days…"

Marie ignored them as she stared right at Souji, "Well… why didn't you offer to help me?"

_Huh? I was supposed to help Marie study? I mean… I didn't even think about it because I don't usually study. I wasn't even planning on doing anything… oh… I forgot… crap. I was supposed to help Chie study. I hope Yukiko is helping her. Though… I should really talk to her because I said I would help her._

Souji had a sinking feeling that he would not be able to get out of this. He asked the girl, "So, what do you think you need help in?"

Rise answered Souji instead. She had a smirk on her face, "Knowing Marie… she needs help in everything."

Marie looked affronted. She responded in turn, "Like you have any room to talk, Rise. You're just as bad in everything."

Rise shook her head, "I might have scored poorly, but you scored even worse on our home school tests."

_So, they both need help, too._

Rise looked expectantly at Souji; it looked like she wanted his help, too. Teddie cut in before anything else could be said, "Hey, hey… Senpai! Can you help me, too?

_After you wanted me to pay for your lunch? Come on…_

"You are the best in second-year," Yosuke admitted. "Hey… I could use some help, too."

_You have to be kidding… four people want my help… plus three are younger and I don't know what will be on their tests. That's not even counting Chie… Also, Yukiko had the same score as I did._

Souji bit his lip. He was unsure of what to say, and what to do. If he really had to, he would maybe help Chie and another second-year. He did not know any of what the younger students were working on; it was not like he was at this school last year. He was on an Engineering track at his whole school.

_They don't have personalized schools, or tracks in Inaba._

Souji had to admit that he could not help four people at once; working on four different things at the same time. It would be impossible for him. He stood up, backed away a step so he could at least somewhat face the four of them at once, and said, "I don't think one person is enough to work with all four of you simultaneously."

Marie crossed her arms, "So…? I don't see why you can't do it."

_She's being unreasonable._

"Do you think you couldn't do a group study?" Yosuke questioned.

"I have a feeling," Souji said. "That some of you are not looking for a group study session."

Rise slid a small grin towards Souji, while Marie rolled her eyes at his statement. Rise said, "I think I would need more help than just working or studying together. It's also because…"

"We're in different years," Souji finished. "It's why I would have trouble with "studying" with any of the first years."

Marie put on a serious face and then commanded, "I want your help, Senpai… you're helping me."

_I don't think I'll have a choice. I think I'll have to recruit another member or two._

Souji closed his eyes for one second before looking over each of the other members. He said, "If you want help… I will need another member to help you study. Two people reviewing with you is better than one."

Yosuke pushed his chair back slightly and asked, "So… who do you have in mind?"

"Well…," Souji took a deep breath. "I can't speak for the other years, but there is only one person that I consider good enough in my year to help you without endangering their own grades."

"You mean Yukiko-san, don't you?" Yosuke guessed at who Souji was speaking of.

"Yes, Yukiko is just as smart as I am," Souji admitted. "She could help, but…"

Marie interrupted him, "Okay… so bring her over here and have her teach Yosuke, Teddie, and Rise."

_She wants special attention again? Besides, there's another issue…_

"Marie-chan… even if I convince Yukiko to help, that's not going to work…," Souji said.

"Why not?" Marie questioned; she looked impatient.

"Then you would be burdening her," Souji explained. "Besides, if we bring Yukiko to help everyone study, then we will also be bringing the girl who she's probably studying with right now."

"Chie…," Yosuke responded.

"Last time I spoke to the both of them about studying, it was under the impression that one of us would help Chie as well," Souji said. "Yukiko is probably studying with Chie."

"That doesn't change the fact that you should talk to Yukiko-senpai," Marie told Souji.

Souji sighed. He was not going to get out of asking Yukiko to work with multiple people no matter how he reasoned with them. He took a deep breath and then said confidently, "I'll try and find Yukiko and ask her if she'll help some of you out, okay? If she doesn't want to… then she won't, okay?"

"Thanks, Senpai…," Rise said with an honest smile on her face.

_At least is willing to thank me…_

"If I get this done… you'll be buying me lunch, okay?" Souji demanded. He started to walk out of the room. "I don't know how long it will take me to find Yukiko, and I know none of you have all of your books. The studying will have to wait until tomorrow, regardless of what you want."

Teddie muttered to himself, "The wait will be unbearable…"

"I guess our game is finished…," Yosuke only sounded half-disappointed. He was not likely to win, but was not going to finish last.

Teddie, however, looked very disappointed. Souji slid the door open and left the club room before he heard a comment on how sad he was that he did not have a chance to win the game.

As he moved away from the old English Classroom and towards the Classroom Building, he thought about where Yukiko might be. He was not exactly sure if Yukiko was still at school, but he had an idea where to look if she still was.

After making his way back into the Classroom Building, he headed to the most logical place he could think of; he went to the library. He walked right past the second-year who was ogling the older student from outside, and slid open the doors. The library was smaller than the one at his previous school. There were plenty of books on a multitude of shelves with one center table, but it was just smaller. Souji did not care about that, though. He was looking for the black-haired girl wearing a black skirt and a red blouse.

Souji looked around the large wooden table and saw the girl with the yellow headband and long black hair packing up her books and various handouts into her school briefcase. He could not tell if Yukiko had been studying on her own, or was working with Chie. Regardless of her previous actions, he waited until she walked close enough for her to notice him. He gestured for the two of them to walk outside of the library because he did not want to have a conversation of an unknown volume in an area that was supposed to at a low volume.

Yukiko followed Souji out of the library, headed down to the first floor, and finally stopped by the shoe lockers. Yukiko was standing behind the bulletin boards, facing Souji. She stared right into his eyes and asked, "What's wrong, Souji? Do you need something?"

"Uhh… Are you helping Chie… with you know… studying for her exams?" Souji wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to word his statement, but that was the best he could come up with.

Yukiko nodded. "Yesterday, I helped her out a little. Today, she had to go home early… so I studied by myself."

_Always the studious one…_

Souji said, "I see… I am glad you're helping her out."

"Souji…," Yukiko nervously shuffled her briefcase from one hand to the other. "She was a little disappointed. It's because you said you were going to help her study, too."

_Of course she remembered that…_

"I will have to apologize to her…," Souji's face lowered slightly. "I lost track of days due to my new club."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that," Yukiko nodded. She changed the subject, "How's the club going?"

Souji did not have a good answer for that. Every day Marie dragged him around, he could not consider those good days. The days were Marie did not do anything too crazy, those were alright. However, the only answer he could give, "It's just started; it's a struggle to get everything together sometimes."

Yukiko smiled. She asked, "Is there any way I can help?"

_She actually asked me?_

"Actually…," Souji started. "There is something…"

"Hmm…?" Yukiko looked inquisitive.

"Well… some of the club members need my help studying for the test, but… there are too many for one person to help at once," Souji explained. "I could really use a second person to help alleviate the amount of people I would need to study with."

Yukiko looked a little torn. It was like she was trying to decide what she wanted to do, but she was weighing the pros and cons of each action. Souji knew there were a lot of cons, but he had to trust that her kindness would win over him being unreasonable.

Yukiko looked down at her feet. She looked up and said with a commanding tone, "Okay… if you want me to do this, then you have to do two things for me."

"Two things? Okay…," Souji nodded.

"The first thing I want you to do is to keep your word and apologize to Chie," Yukiko explained. She added. "You'll also spend one of the remaining days studying with her, and another in a group session with everyone."

_I guess I can try and do that… though Marie might throw a hissy fit._

"What's the second thing?" Souji asked.

Yukiko's face colored slightly before she finally said softly, "I want you to help me learn how to cook."

Souji looked a little confused, "You want me to teach you how to cook?"

"Not necessarily… you just have to taste what I make, and then tell me how good it is," Yukiko told him. "You don't really need to teach me anything…"

_Wait… she is one of the people responsible for nearly killing me at the camping trip. Is this really worth it? So, it will be death by poisonous food or death by whatever Marie will probably make me do?_

Souji sighed. There was no choice in the end. He knew what he had to do, so he took a short breath and said, "Alright… I'll assist you with your cooking as a taste tester and whatever else you wanted."

Yukiko smiled at Souji's response, "Alright… where does your club meet?"

"Hmm…?" Souji said.

"So I can meet the people I am supposed to work with," Yukiko explained. "Also, so I can tell Chie where to go."

"The Practice Building, in the old English Classroom," Souji answered. He shifted his weight and asked. "You are actually going to help me with something unreasonable like this?"

Yukiko's face colored slightly, "Uh huh…" She quickly added. "You're helping me, too."

_Does she have a fever? Nah…_

Souji was not sure of what to say to Yukiko at this point, only because she was starting to color unnaturally. After an uncomfortable silence of about five seconds he took about two steps back and said, "I better go find Chie and apologize. I'll see you tomorrow morning in class."

Souji quickly switched shoes and left Yukiko behind. He opened the middle doors and went away from Yasogami and away from the School Zone. He now had the arduous task of finding Chie before tomorrow. He decided that going through Samegawa would be faster, so he moved from the School Zone towards the tree-lined section of the Floodplains.

There was something else he had to do as he walked along the straight road. He pulled out his cell and made the call to his temporary household to check in on his little cousin. Due to the fact that he was now in the Boredom Relief Club, he rarely got home in an expedient fashion. Because of this, he usually called Nanako on the way to the house so she could get out what he needed to make dinner. He would make dinner; it was best that he made dinner.

He pulled out his phone before he was halfway through the Floodplains and dialed his temporary home's number. The dial tone rang twice before he heard a familiar voice on the side.

"Hello?" Nanako said tentatively.

"Hello, Nanako-chan. It's your cousin," Souji said.

"Big bro!" Nanako exclaimed. "Are you on your way home?"

"I'll be home soon…," Souji answered. His tone changed slightly as he requested. "Do you mind getting out the produce, meat, and other food I bought last night so I can make dinner when I get back?"

"Yeah…," Nanako said. "Hope you come home soon…"

"Me too…," Souji nodded while speaking over the phone.

He continued his conversation down to the banks of the Floodplains. Before he could say goodbye to his younger cousin, he caught a just a glimpse of a short skirt and a green leash before a large white and brown dog collided with him. Souji was sent straight to the almost cobblestone-like ground, while the dog started licking his face repeatedly. The dog was heavy enough that Souji was having trouble pushing off his body, and it smelled like even though it was bathed regularly; it had a smell that it was never fully clean.

He was going to try and extricate himself from the dog when he felt the animal being tugged away from him. He finally noticed who the short skirt belonged to when he saw that the person who had pulled the dog away from him was in fact the only person in 2-2 that wore such a short skirt. He had found Chie Satonaka, he just did not know she had a dog.

"I'm sorry, Souji…" Chie held her dog away from Souji as best as she could. It was still trying to get to the silver-haired boy, presumably to lick him or something or the sort.

"I guess it was my fault for not noticing you," Souji responded, looking down for his cellphone. He dropped the call with his cousin, and would either have to apologize when he got home or call her back.

"If you say so…," Chie said. She picked up Souji's phone that was lying near the dog and handed it to Souji. "Is this yours?"

"Thanks," Souji nodded while pocketing his cell. He added. "I didn't know you had a dog, Chie. How long have you…"

"Oh… him?" Chie patted the dog's neck and smiled with a nostalgic look on her face. "It's actually how we first met. Yukiko found him actually, but her family wouldn't let her keep him. Her family wouldn't let her keep him, so I convinced my parents to let me keep him. We were pretty young back then."

"Sounds nice…," Souji said. "To meet your best friend through something so small; who would have thought that it would turn into such a meaningful friendship?"

Chie gave a small smile and nodded. She then questioned, "Are you heading home?"

"I am…," Souji agreed. "But… I was also looking for you."

Chie looked confused, "You were looking for me? Why?" Her dog was panting, still trying to get loose.

_Another time for me to bite the bullet…_

Souji took another deep breath and said, "There are two reasons, I guess. One of the reasons is to apologize."

"Apologize…," Chie stared straight at Souji. He looked a little uncomfortable as she finished. "Why?"

"We were supposed to study together, weren't we?" Souji inquired. "So… I thought that I should apologize."

"Apologize…," Chie looked a little bewildered for only the slightest of moments. Then, her face steeled and said in a serious tone. "Right, you broke your promise with me. I can't believe you would do such a thing."

Souji tightened up as he prepared for some Yosuke-like punishment. He would most likely be killed, or at the very least sterilized. He shut his eyes just in time to be knocked over again by Chie's large dog. There was no way he was getting off as Chie was holding the slack on the leash. He just had to allow the dog lick and slobber all over his face. It appeared to be the endless, only because Souji was losing track of time while the dog was having fun, slobbering on top of him.

_At least I'm not being kicked in the nads…_

Finally, a few seconds later, Chie tightened her grip on the leash, called her dog back, and eventually gave a slight tug to bring the pet back to her side. Souji staggered up, now with multiple slobber stains on his clothes and multiple dog licks on his right cheek. Chie again had a smile on her face; there was no residue of her steely face from a few moments before.

"It is okay to say that I was not expecting to be mauled by a dog?" Souji muttered. He pointlessly tried to straighten his clothes by brushing them down with his hands. It left his palms a little wet.

"What were you expecting?" Chie tightened the grip on her dog's leash. "To be kicked?"

_I don't think it would be smart to tell her that I was kind of expecting that._

Chie continued in a lighter tone than before, "You said you had a second reason for looking for me?"

"It involves studying, too, actually…," Souji explained.

Chie's face steeled again. She questioned, "And for what purpose would that be?" She looked like she was about to set the dog on him again.

Souji cleared his throat; he was thinking of what exactly to say. He eventually answered, "Well… first of all, tomorrow's study session with Yukiko will be in the old English Classroom, instead of the library."

"That's where your club meets, right?" Chie said. "Why is it there?"

"It's because I asked her to work with a couple other students, too," Souji admitted.

Chie's grip on the leash of her dog tightened again. She did not look amused. She asked, "Did you ask her to do this?"

He could not lie to Chie… not again. He rubbed his top teeth again his bottom lip for just a second and then told her, "I did ask Yukiko, and eventually she agreed to do it."

_Only after sacrificing my taste buds…_

Chie shook her head, "So…? That can't be everything… Forget it, just tell me everything that's happening so I don't have to keep asking questions."

"Right…," Souji said, taking a deep breath before he tried to give the short-haired brunette all of the related information. "I think Yukiko will take everyone who you are studying with tomorrow back to the library. As inefficient as it sounds…"

_Marie probably would bitch at me if there are too many people studying in her private space…_

"After tomorrow's study session with Yukiko, Saturday's session is just between you and me," Souji continued.

Chie did not sound quite as happy as Souji expected, "Why do you think I should agree to that now? After you forgot about it last time?"

Souji did not want to say it, but it was the only way Chie would believe him, "Yukiko said I should, and I agreed with her that I should have a study session with just you."

Chie still did not look quite as cheery as she did at the beginning of their meeting. She said, "You said there was something else…"

"The day after that, there's a group-wide study session with everyone in both groups from Friday," Souji explained.

Chie pursed her lips, contemplating her compromised position. She had lost her other study partner in this process and was now unsure of what to do about it. Chie finally said, "I guess I have no choice. However, Souji, I want you to do something for me. If you don't…"

_Now what… But, do I have a choice._

"What do you want me to do, Chie?" Souji asked.

"I want you to help me train…," Chie explained. "I train down in the Floodplains every couple of days, and I want you to help me."

_Train? Like railroads?_

Chie continued, "You have to train with me whenever I need a training partner."

Souji sighed. It was going to be a necessary evil of being in the Boredom Relief Club for him to make annoying concessions that will strip him of time he should be spending with his little cousin. He took a deep calming breath and said, "Okay, as long as I'm not fulfilling what Yukiko wanted me to do before she agreed to help me."

Chie shrugged, "That's fair."

Souji stepped forward and ruffled her dog's fur. He looked up from the dog and said to Chie, "I'll see you in class then."

"Tomorrow…," Chie said, still not as warm as he had hoped.

_Well that went about as well as expected. Mauled by a dog twice, but… I got the job done._

Souji hurried home after his conversation with Chie, but even after making dinner with Nanako and enjoying a typical and enjoyable meal, he was still worn out. He cleaned the dishes and headed straight to bed. He got up a little earlier than expected, and made sure to bring anything that might help him teach a pair of first-years. Souji quickly ate the toast and eggs Nanako prepared and walked halfway to school with her. He went through his typical path down the Floodplains and the School Zone until he reached the hill that led up to Yasogami. He tentatively walked into 2-2 because he had no idea how Chie and Yukiko would react.

Souji as usual, was a bit out of it during the classes. He, at least, noticed that Yukiko looked somewhat cheer. Chie, however, still did not look overly happy even with yesterday's agreement.

Regardless, as soon as the bells for the final class rang, Souji blinked twice to fully wake up from his drowsy half of a nap, and grabbed his briefcase. He slid open the door in 2-2 before leaving the Classroom Building and entering the Practice Building, only stopping for a quick bathroom break. He was about to slide open the door to the Boredom Relief Club when he heard a conversation and a resounding slap. He quickly entered the room to see Yosuke with a large hand mark on his cheek.

"Geez… all I said was that I was excited to have "private lessons" with Yukiko!" Yosuke exclaimed.

_Snrk…_

"Oh… I thought you meant something different. We get all types at the inn," Yukiko looked apologetic. "I'm sorry…"

Chie shook her head. She was thinking that Yosuke probably did mean what those people at the inn were thinking. Souji did not really care, and instead focused on the black-haired girl cut short who wore a hat that had an impatient look plastered on her face. She was sitting at the long table along with Rise, with one empty seat between them.

_Maybe I shouldn't have stopped for to go to the restroom. Marie looks annoyed._

There still was a lot of tension in the air for one reason or another. A silence that would not be broken until Chie finally sighed and said, "We're going to the library, right?"

Yukiko stuttered, "R… right…"

The two started to turn away, Chie looking slightly annoyed at having her one-on-one study session being invaded by others. Yosuke closely followed Chie; he looked at Souji and said softly, "See you, Souji…"

Only after the three first-years had already left the club room did Teddie leave the club room. He waited until Yukiko and Chie were out of ear shot before he exclaimed, "Private Lessons!"

Marie threw her hat at Teddie and Rise closed her eyes in shame. "Go get lost in your perversions, Teddie…," Marie rolled her eyes.

"So cruel…," Teddie muttered. The blond-haired first-year left the room and slid the door behind him. Souji picked up Marie's blue hat and tossed it back onto the table before walking over to the seat between the two former idols.

There were books and handouts spread out haphazardly around the table, Souji sat down and said to both of them, "I seemed to have missed something."

Rise enlightened him, "Yosuke was being silly about having Yukiko-senpai study with him. Chie-senpai did not really want to have to work with Teddie and Yosuke. I think she thinks that Yosuke-senpai and Teddie are bad influences on her studying."

_Won't disagree with that…_

Souji shrugged. He set his briefcase next to Marie's oversized blue one. He attempted to reach for a handout so he could move it out of the way slightly; his hand was pushed out of the way by a forearm covered in a black and red sleeve that ran all the way to her hand.

"Don't touch…," Marie told Souji. "I organized it just the way I wanted it…" She muttered. "Stupidjerk…"

_I just wanted room to put a pen or a piece of paper._

"Marie… don't be like that," Rise tried to calm Marie down.

Souji exhaled and said, "Whatever… let's just get down to business."

"We're in your hands, Senpai," Rise said.

He pulled out blank pieces of paper and writing utensils. He had some basic handouts, but his advanced math handouts might not help first-years. He had nothing that would help until he knew what exactly the two needed help in. It was not going to be exciting.

_Not really…_

"So… what exactly do you want to start with?" Souji asked. He looked first at Rise, and then at Marie.

"Rise sucks at English, maybe we should work on that," Marie smirked.

"Like you're any better at English than I am," Rise retorted. "Besides, it's because we always had translators to do interviews."

"Doesn't change the fact you suck at English," Marie continued to smirk. "And at Math… and Science… and Social Studies…"

"I'm more likely to pass those classes than you," Rise responded. "You should just worry about not finishing dead last in the school…"

"The only thing dead last will be your love life when you finally decide to try and hook up with a guy," Marie retorted.

"Heh…," Rise said softly. "Like you have any room to talk about love…"

_Now it's getting personal…_

Souji rolled his eyes. It looked like it was going to be a long study session. He coughed lightly so both of the girls stopped their bickering. He said in a sterner tone than he expected to, "We're starting at English. No one is getting a translator if you don't go back to being idols. If you don't want to learn it, you can start practicing math by yourself."

Rise's argumentative tone disappeared as she blushed slightly, "Alright, Senpai… let's start with English."

Marie curbed her tongue and said in a restricted voice, "Fine…"

Souji nodded, "Alright then… now show me a handout, or some of your notes and we'll work on your English Comprehension."

He took the handout that Marie pushed his hand away from a few second ago, much to her chagrin. After looking it over for a few seconds, he picked up his pen and a piece of paper and started writing a paragraph in English.

_Good thing my English is a lot better than theirs is…_

"What are you doing?" Marie asked.

Souji dropped the pen and placed the paper in a position so both could see it. "Now… I'll give you a few minutes before I start asking questions."

"What!?" Rise looked scared. "You're testing us?"

Souji nodded, "You better start reading it."

Rise reached for the paper, but Marie grabbed it first. "Hands off… you won't be able to comprehend it anyways."

_Are you kidding me?_

Souji ended up writing a second copy for Rise because Marie would not share the copy he made for the two. After a minute or two, he looked at the two of them, and asked, "Okay… who's the main character?"

_We're starting out easy._

"It's a guy named Johnathon," Marie answered.

"Alright," Souji said. "What's Johnathon's occupation?"

"He's a fisherman, duh…" Marie responded.

"Okay, okay…," Souji nodded. "Why isn't Johnathon fishing?"

Marie closed her eyes in thought. She looked lost as she strived to figure out the answer, but just could not understand it. Rise, however, said, "It's because there's no fish left for Johnathon."

Souji smiled, "Explain, Rise-chan…"

"It's because… of… I don't know," Rise admitted. The girl with red hair looked at Marie, who shook her head. Neither of them knew the answer to Souji's question.

Souji exhaled softly. He expected them to get the easy questions, but he would have a lot more chances to push the right answers into their brains. He decided to give the pair the answer, "There are no fish for John because of overfishing by the larger fisheries."

Marie shoved herself back from the table, pushing with her arms, "How are we supposed to know that!? Your questions are too hard!" She started murmuring. "Stupidjerkidiot…"

"Don't be like that, Marie…," Rise tried to calm her down. An evil gleam suddenly shown on Rise's eyes, "He's just trying to help dumb people like you."

"Dumb!?" Marie yelled and threw herself from her seat.

Souji quickly left his seat as Marie turned to face Rise, most likely to kill her. It would most likely be entertaining to watch two girls argue, but he would be caught up in it and be killed. He wanted to see his eighteenth birthday.

"Hey!" Souji exclaimed. "We have more English to go over…" He looked from one girl to the other. "Kill each other later…"

"Senpai…," Rise lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry…"

Marie crossed her arms, a mixture of black and red arm coverings mixing and matching. She puffed out her cheeks. Rise looked at her expectantly, and Marie finally broke down and said, "Sorry…"

Souji rolled his eyes, "Okay then…"

_Rise did say they only sometimes get along, but I did not expect a fight over studying. I'd hate to see a fight over a guy._

The rest of the day's study session went about as well as his first question. A continuous argument broke out between Rise and Marie every time a mistake was made, or there was a disagreement on an answer. Every time there was an argument, Souji had to stop the row. It was tedious. Souji was barely able to get past his planned English tutoring and into a little math studies before he gave up for the day. He was just worn out.

Souji left Yasogami High exhausted and drained. He just wanted to go home, eat dinner, and go to sleep. He barely even thought about the fact that he was supposed to cook dinner for Nanako and study with Chie tomorrow. He was not going to get any worthwhile rest tonight.

He had just passed the iron gates when he heard the voice of the girl with the light blue hat, "Hey… hey you!"

Souji sighed; he did not have time for this. He turned his head to see Marie quickly walking towards him. He stopped walking and turned completely around to face the true commander of his club.

"What is it, Marie-chan?" Souji was exasperated.

"Senpai…," Marie sounded a little tired. "I was told that I was supposed to go thank you for helping us study."

_Was there another argument with Rise? I know the word wasn't… "told"_

Souji shrugged, "Your welcome…"

"I'll see you after school tomorrow then, right?" Marie asked. She actually looked slightly hopeful for once.

_Ohh… I won't be able to study with Marie tomorrow. I'm studying with Chie._

Souji closed his lips and eyes for a second. He opened his eyes and after finally gathering his thoughts and said, "To be able to have a second tutor, I had to promise to tutor a different person tomorrow by herself." He said as calmly as possible. "The other tutor will help you out tomorrow and I believe everyone is meeting at Junes on Sunday."

Marie's expression turned from almost hopeful look to extremely annoyed. "What!?" She exclaimed. "If you can't tutor me tomorrow, then… Punishment!"

_I knew it… I knew she would do this._

"You'll be fine," Souji muttered, taking a step back. "Just wait until after exams for Punishment…"

Souji turned back towards home and started back towards the Floodplains. Marie called out after him, "If I fail my classes, you'll wish I punished you beforehand!"

_So immature…_

As expected, he did not sleep well that night. He even slightly overcooked dinner for Nanako. She obviously did not complain, but it annoyed him greatly. He still was not sure what he was not going to do about his study session with Chie.

Regardless of his tiredness, he now sat in the second chair in the only long wooden table surrounded by rows and rows of books in the library waiting for the bowl-cut brunette. He did not even show up to the club room today, only for the reason that Marie might flay him alive again. He believed that Yukiko might help her out today, but if the black-haired girl with the red headband brought Marie to the library; he would be tongue-lashed.

Souji actually brought some of his texts and handouts for today. If he was going to help Chie, he needed some actual second-year work. He might have not a lot of notes because he slept through a lot of his classes, but it would work out somehow. Chie probably had a copy of Yukiko's notes.

_I hope she has a copy of Yukiko's notes. Chie's notes are illegible._

Souji started losing consciousness as he the only thing around him was couples studying together. He placed his right elbow on the table and his head sideways in his right hand. His eyes were starting to drift close when he heard a loud voice, "Wake up, Souji…"

Souji's eyes snapped open as every person in the library, including the librarians, focused on the origin of the voice.

_Why are they looking at me?_

Souji looked up from his chair and saw that the reason that why it seemed that everyone was looking at him was because the speaker was standing just about on top of him. The brunette with whom he had promised to train with was towering over him with her bag in hand and a scowl on her face.

"Are you sleeping!?" Chie asked him.

Souji sighed, "You shouldn't be so loud. We're in a library."

Chie looked around, everyone was still staring at her. She blushed slightly and placed her briefcase next to Souji's own. She silently pulled out a few texts, blank papers, and a couple handouts. She still did not look very happy.

Souji was as calm as possible, "So, what do you need help with, Chie?"

"Me…?" Chie actually looked surprised to be asked that for some reason.

"Well, I'm here to help you, am I not? I need to know what we are working on," Souji said.

Instead of looking angry, Chie looked nervous, "I need help in… everything."

"Everything?" Souji looked confused. "Really?"

Chie's face screwed up in anger again, "Do you have a problem with that?"

Souji took a breath and said, "Of course not…" He asked. "What do you want to start with?"

Chie thought for a second and then said, "Social Studies… I don't know anything about Geography."

"Anything?" Souji said.

"You got a problem with that!?" Chie was unexpectedly loud.

A second later, Souji noticed a figure standing above him; it was a library volunteer. The short first-year with braided hair asked meekly, "Do you mind having your girlfriend… try and be a little quieter?" She was extremely nervous and a little scared of asking Souji to do something.

_Girlfriend? That's not going to go over well._

Chie blushed slightly, but managed to control her voice slightly as she retorted, "He is not my boyfriend."

The volunteer shook her head, "I'm sorry about the mistake, but still… this is a library. So… if you could…"

Souji answered for her, "We'll try and be quiet."

The two finally calmed down slightly; it was mainly Chie calming down. When they finally started their study session, it was excruciating. Souji knew the material much better than the first-year's, obviously. However, Chie needed help in not just history, but in everything he tried to cover with her. There was nothing he could do but just keep working at it.

Souji pushed away a paper that was filled with incorrect answers, held out his wrist to look at his watch, and then said to his partner, "It's been over two hours... is there anything else you need help with?"

_I really need to get home to Nanako, but we'll see if she lets me go._

Chie looked tired and frustrated with herself, "I don't want to stop… I need more help with math."

"Chie… all of us are going to be at Junes tomorrow. It will not just be me tomorrow, Yukiko can help you, too," Souji tried to reason with her.

"I just don't like failing…," Chie muttered.

"I understand," Souji nodded slightly. "Nobody likes failing…"

Chie reluctantly put her texts and handouts away. She still looked slightly depressed as she picked up her bag. As Souji followed her lead and cleaned up his own handouts and texts, he heard a meek voice come from Chie, "I know that I'm not smart, but if I fail even with her help… then I've failed her."

_Her? Does she mean Yukiko?_

Chie left the chair and left the library; Souji followed closely behind. The brunette was silent all the way until the pair reached the shoeboxes on the first floor. At Souji's box, she focused her attention on the silver-haired second-year, "You know… I'm sorry. I'm sure you were busy, and you had your reasons. You don't have to train with me, or whatever." Chie looked lost.

_She looks so defeated…_

Souji shook his head. He was not sure what had caused this tremendous change in Chie, but it was not a good one. He said, "Don't worry about it. After exams, we can worry about you wearing me out to death through training."

He managed to pull a small smile out of Chie before he hurried home. He was just as exhausted as yesterday, but luckily… he did not burn dinner and force Nanako to lie about its quality this time. Dojima arrived late enough just in time to see him go to bed. He did not sleep very well, but better than the night before. He ate breakfast with Nanako, and then left her behind so he could go study.

Less than an hour later, he found himself sitting in the middle seat at a long wooden covered table in Junes. It was the longest table in the outside area at the mega-mart, and every member of the Boredom Relief Club and the other two girls were here to study. Souji was surrounded by Marie and Rise. Right across from Souji was Yukiko, and surrounded by her was Teddie and Chie. Sitting next to Teddie was Yosuke. Everyone had a drink in front of them, courtesy of Yosuke. Yosuke was not extremely happy about it, but a little coercing by Marie the Devil helped move it along.

Books and handouts lay strewn across the long table as the group tried to study. Since it was Sunday, nobody was wearing anything close to their school clothing except for Marie. She was still wearing a white sleeveless blouse with the red and black arm coverings and long black and white socks. The only thing missing was her yellow ribbon. Souji was wearing a white tee instead of the white button-up. Yosuke had a white tee with a red emblem and khakis instead of his uniform. Chie was wearing a green tank top and very short jean shorts. Yukiko had on a black shirt and a semi-short black skirt. Rise was wearing short khaki shorts and a peach colored tank. It was a far cry from the regular school uniforms were everyone wore practically the same thing. However, little studying was getting done.

Marie looked at Chie, the brunette had attempted a math problem and threw her pen down in frustration only a second ago. She asked across the table, "Hey… Chie-senpai?"

"Hmm?" Chie looked up.

"Do you always wear green?" Marie asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Chie responded. The second-year pushed away her papers.

Marie put her elbows on the table and then placed her head on her open palms. She explained, "I think I briefly saw you at the concert. You were wearing green then, right?"

"Uhh…," Chie did not have an answer for that.

Marie turned her head towards Yukiko, "You had some form of red yesterday on, and you have a bit of red on today."

"R...right," Yukiko nodded.

"Do you two always wear green and red?" Marie questioned.

"Umm…," Chie said. "Maybe…"

Yosuke smiled, "You know… I never noticed that."

"How couldn't you notice what colors each girl is wearing?" Souji rolled his eyes. "Like Marie always has black and white socks on."

Marie stared straight at Souji and muttered, "Stupidjerkface…idiotstupid… I hope you burn."

_So violent…_

"Who cares what Yuki-chan, or Chie-chan wears?" Teddie was using the incorrect suffix as always. "They're still super cute."

"Idiot…," Chie muttered.

"You rejected me yesterday, Yukiko-chan, but Chie-chan can go on a date with," Teddie said.

"Never…," Chie told the boy wearing the frilly white shirt and blue pants. He also loved the frilly shirts even when he was in school.

_Of course she rejected him…_

Yosuke took a sip of his drink and interrupted the conversation, "Souji, can I borrow your notes for History?"

_Do I even have History notes?_

"If I can find them, Yosuke," Souji told him. He felt extremely nice today.

"Thanks, partner," Yosuke responded.

After he finally found his sparse amount of notes and passed them over, the group returned to what Souji thought was studying. Marie passed over a piece of paper to Rise and asked, "Is this answer, right?"

Rise shrugged, "I don't know… ask Senpai…"

_How am I supposed to know? I don't even know what they're working on!_

"I'll look at it…," Yosuke suggested.

Marie cut in, "No! You're an idiot…"

"Geez…," Yosuke lowered his head in shame. "You're so mean."

"Snrk…," Yukiko started to chuckle.

At that point, Yosuke and Chie threw down their notes and simultaneously said, "I give up…"

From then on, studying was not a word in the Boredom Relief Club's language. The conversation was completely random, but amusing for Souji. It was full of perversion, arguments, and random yelling. In other words, a perfectly normal day for the Boredom Relief Club, even if it was a study session. Souji thought it was almost normal, but he could still use more excitement.

The afternoon was hitting its stride when the group was starting to clean up. Before Chie and Yukiko could clean up their drinks and handouts, Marie pulled out two more papers from her briefcase and focused her attention to the two girls. She said, "You two… I want you to join the club."

_Why would they join the club?_

Yukiko looked slightly confused, "Join your club?"

"Why?" Chie looked annoyed.

"Because I need you to join the club," Marie said.

"Why?" Chie repeated.

"You need to join because I said so…," Marie told her. "You are needed in case of a zombie invasion."

"Marie…," Rise said to try and placate her.

"I'm not joining to be zombie bait," Chie responded.

"No… you're not the bait, Chie-senpai," Marie said. "Rise is the bait."

"I'm the bait!?" Rise exclaimed.

Souji rolled his eyes. Yukiko looked at Souji and softly said, "Do you want me to join your club?"

_She doesn't have to… it's not like she'll really be able to go to… I mean she's working at the inn most days._

"You don't have to," Souji responded to Yukiko in the same tone.

Chie overheard Yukiko's question. She looked to Souji and back to Marie, and then finally said to the idol with dark hair, "I'll only join if Yukiko joins."

"Umm…," Yukiko looked indecisive. "If I don't have to go every day."

He did not consider himself the actual President, but he was the President in name. However, he made at least one rule. He said to Yukiko, "You only come to the club when you can. If you are working, then you don't have to come."

Yukiko nodded, "Alright…" Yukiko smiled at Souji, who gave a small smile back.

Marie looked at Chie expectantly. Chie raised her head and then sighed. She finally said, "Fine… I'll join your club."

"Fine…," Chie was exasperated.

Marie handed the two pieces of paper to Yukiko and Chie respectively. After the two had the paperwork, she said, "Welcome… to the Boredom Relief Club."

_You mean, "Welcome to Hell…"_

The group dispersed shortly after and Souji headed straight home. He made his usual meal with Nanako, and ate with her in front of the TV. After cleaning the dishes and watching more TV with her, he headed up to the room. Sitting on his couch, Souji took out a book about a meek teacher and read about his lame attempts to stand up for himself. It had been a long few days, and he was sure there were going to be some long days ahead. He did not believe it, but the exam days might be more relaxing than the study days. He just hoped he slept better than he did the past few days.

_Marie better pass a few classes, or I'll get some stupid Punishment that's a waste of time._

He threw his book on the small wooden table where he usually folded envelopes, and went to his dresser to change to go to sleep. He headed straight to his black futon and straight to his dreams.

_It'll be another set of exams straight to the top… even if my studying did involve studying first-years' work._

New people in Boredom Relief Club- Happy times, right?

Next Chapter: Fire the Lasers!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5- Fire the Lasers!**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. For those who are not typical students of Yasogami, I made up their ages and if you don't like the ages I decided… well you know my rule about it. I expect ethical respect from my readers, but if you don't want to be a respectful reader; I want you to hit the back button.

P.S.: All sorts of OOC stuff. Persona rules on suffixes #4 Who needs to lock up the school?

P.S.S.: You are free to give suggestions on pairings or whatever…

_Souji's thoughts_

_**Two days after the end of exams**_

The mid-term finals were easy… well, they were easy for at least one person in the Boredom Relief Club. He finished every exam early, and he was able to take a nap until the end of each exam. He was able to double-check any question, but it was unnecessary because he knew that pretty much every answer was right. The scores were not out yet, but he knew he probably had the highest second-year score in Yasogami High. Souji did not know the scores of the other members in the Boredom Relief Club were, but if Marie failed her tests; he was in trouble.

Inside the old English Classroom, now the home of the Boredom Relief Club, sat every member of the club. For the first time since Yukiko and Chie joined, everyone was in the club at once. Yesterday, Yukiko was working so Chie did not attend. The girl with shoulder-length black hair was there today because she was not working, so Chie attended the club with her and sat in the chair right beside her.

The group was currently playing another board game. A board game that was only meant for six people. It meant that one person had to be the banker. Souji was forced by Marie to be the banker. He was forced to watch the others, from Yosuke to Teddie buy properties and pay up when landing on the others' properties. It was really, really… boring. However, he was sure something would happen to make it interesting.

Souji was sitting at the head of the table with the box of the game in front of him, as well as stacks of fake money. Yukiko and Chie were closest to him on his left, while Rise and Marie were the closest to him on the right.

It was currently Rise's turn. She was running out of money because she kept landing on Marie's, Yukiko's, and Chie's spaces. If she rolled the two dice and it came up an eight, she would have probably have to mortgage a property. Rise took the two cubes in her right hand, jingled them on a slightly upraised palm, and rolled them across the board. She pursed her lips, hoping that the number would not come up eight.

"Oh… bad luck…," Yosuke said, looking at the numbers of the dice that had landed beneath him. "It looks like you owe me big time."

"I can't afford this…," Rise muttered. "Why did I have to roll an eight?"

"You can just mortgage your properties, right?" Yukiko explained. "That'll pay for it."

"Then I won't be able to get any money back," Rise complained.

Chie tried to reassure her, "You are not that far away from passing Go. You will get some money as soon as you pass that square."

"But, which property should I mortgage?" Rise looked down at the board. "There is a chance that Yosuke will land on one of them next turn, or Marie will land on the other next turn."

"Neither of us are going to land on either square, Rise," Marie insisted. "You know you should give up both of your properties and save us the time."

"Why would I give up both of my properties?" Rise questioned. She held both of her property cards in hand, just in case.

Marie smirked, "I bet Souji-senpai would loan you some money if you loaned out your body."

_Wait… what? Are we talking about prostitution for fake money?_

Rise shook her head in annoyance and said rather calmly, "Well… if we are talking about loaning out our body, why don't we look at your last TV shoot. Does that sound good?"

Marie reddened slightly as she said, "That shoot was never finished."

Souji rolled his eyes. He raised his right arm diagonally equal to about his shoulders, "Nobody is loaning out their body for money… "

Marie's redness disappeared, but she still smirked at Souji's comment. Rise nodded and said, "Okay… well, I guess I will just mortgage this property." She looked at Souji. "This should be enough to pay the rent, right?"

She flipped over the card and Souji handed over the amount of money that the property was worth. Rise then passed the rent money from landing on Yosuke's property. Yosuke put Rise's money in his neat little stacks.

Rise frowned, "I'm broke again…"

"Maybe you should've loaned out your body," Marie suggested.

"Don't tell me that's the punishment for finishing last today…," Yosuke interjected.

"Punishment?" Yukiko looked confused. "There's a punishment?"

_I don't think anyone has ever told Yukiko about punishments._

Marie's earlier smirk widened, "Well, originally… I had not thought of a good punishment for last place, or any of the losers. Though… I might have a few fun ones in mind."

"Marie's idea of fun is not like anyone else's idea of fun, Yukiko," Yosuke warned her.

"Really?" Yukiko said.

"Well, if it's a punishment for last place, then that's Rise-chan," Chie reassured Yukiko.

"If you have something unacceptable in mind, I'm not doing it," Rise told Marie.

Marie adjusted her blue hat and said, "Well… technically, the person with the least amount of properties and the least amount of money is…" She started straight at Souji.

_Oh crap…_

"That isn't really fair," Souji said softly. "I had no opportunities to earn money or properties, nor did I have a starting stock of money before the game began. Of course, I would be in last place if I am considered a true member of this game."

"He's right, Marie-chan," Yukiko gestured. "He's not really playing."

Chie added, "I mean, you are the one who forced him to the banker, so you can't force him to finish last place on purpose just to punish him."

Marie shrugged, "Fine…" She looked at the whole group in a sweeping gaze. "Whose turn is it?"

Souji gestured to the blond-haired second-year and said, "It's Teddie's turn…"

Teddie was currently trapped in a corner square because he had rolled doubles three times in a row. Now, he had to roll doubles again to get out of the square he had been quarantined in, or he would have to pay a fine. He had failed once, and if he failed to roll doubles within the next two rolls, he would be paying a fine.

"Time for me to get out of jail…," Teddie smiled. He picked up the dice and rolled them around in his palm. "Out of jail, date with Yuki-chan and Marie-chan." Teddie abandoned Marie's command of using her last name a while ago, and using the monikers of addressing an upperclassman... if she was a girl.

"Can we stop talking about dates?" Yukiko muttered. "Ridiculous that you are talking about going out with me."

_It's Teddie…_

Teddie shook his head, "Nope…" He proceeded to throw the dice across the table.

The dice tumbled across the table. Before it had a chance to land in a mismatched pair, leaving Teddie trapped in his corner spot, a knocking sounded out from the doors of the club room. Souji looked past the potential outcome of Teddie's roll for the origin of the sound, even if it was futile.

The knocking came again, so Marie turned her head and said, "Souji-senpai… see who it is." She

_Of course I do…_

Souji left his chair and walked past the others. As he made his way to the door, he heard Marie say, "Okay… Teddie is still in jail. It's Yosuke's turn now."

Souji inwardly shook his head as he slid open the door. Standing in front of him were ten young men and women he had seen only about a month before. They were the ten students of the Calligraphy Club; the ten students Marie had manipulated out of this very club room. He had no idea where Calligraphy Club were holding their club meetings now, or if they even had a club room at this point.

_Are they here to take revenge on Marie?_

The President of the Calligraphy Club, a third-year, faced down Souji and said, "You are the President of the Boredom Relief Club, right?"

_Great…_

Souji sighed, "Technically, yes…"

The slightly obtuse and overweight second-year young man that Marie first manipulated all those days ago came forward and said, "We are here for…"

The second-year was cut off by a lanky first-year motioning to the table, "What are you doing here?"

Yosuke looked up from his turn, "We're playing a game."

The President of the Calligraphy Club questioned, "You stole our club room to play Monopoly and other games?"

Marie looked up and shook her head, "No… it's much more than that. The person in last place has to go to school tomorrow without underwear."

_We didn't agree to any punishments or crazy consequences… _

The club members in both clubs raised their eyebrows, especially the ones playing the game. Souji was waiting for the first complaint. Yosuke muttered to himself, "But… if Rise-chan stays in last place…"

_Rise… that's ridiculous…_

"Rise-chan…," the President of the Calligraphy Club had heard Yosuke, "Is going to go to school without…"

A girl standing behind the Calligraphy Club President hit him on the head. She said to Souji, "You are not having your club members go to school without underwear, are you?"

Marie answered for Souji with a smile, "It's the decided punishment."

"It's because you are always so bored; Marie, that you make up insane punishments that you never carry out," the girl with dark red pigtails responded. "The moment you are close to losing, you rectify the punishments. We never finish the games, so let's just see what these people want."

_Rise is right. The one time Marie was close to being punished, she threw the chessboard out of the club room. _

Marie slowly stood up and walked towards the ten people that made up the rival club. She stood right next to Souji and asked, "So what do you want?" She smirked, "Don't tell me you want this room back? You told me I could have it."

_Only after you made them weep…_

The President of the Calligraphy Club cleared his throat and said, "Yes… we are here for this room."

"Heh…," Marie had somewhat stopped paying attention, "Do you even have a room? Where are you meeting now, anyways?"

The Calligraphy President shook his head, "That doesn't matter. The point is that we are here for this room back… the room we requisitioned for at our club's creation, well before you were a student at this school."

"Blah, blah…," Marie made a gesture with her right hand, opening and closing in a crocodile-like fashion. "You started with this room, but you don't have it now."

More than a few members of the opposite club wanted to say a few things in response to Marie, but only the president of the club and the girl who had stopped him from acting out before stopped the others from doing something silly.

Souji rolled his eyes, "Okay, we get it, you want the room back." Souji asked, "You have to know that there at least one person here who will not give this room back without a very good reason."

The head of the other club looked around their old club room for just a moment. With a smug look on his face, he pointed to his right, the near corner wall. It was the area that currently housed the unused laser tag equipment. "Our clubs are playing a game of tag…"

_Do they even have enough guns and vests? We have like… nine, not seventeen._

Chie seemed to have noticed this and said from her seat, "Do you even have vests and guns?"

"We have procured the necessary equipment," the girl behind the president said.

"That doesn't exactly seem like part of the budget for the Calligraphy Club," Yosuke pointed out.

"Our original advisor was Morooka, so…," the President explained. "He was more than happy to help with the budget."

_Oh yeah… Marie blackmailed him, too._

Marie shook her head, obviously remembering her actions. She said, "So, we shoot each other. If you win, you want this room back, right?"

The other president nodded, "Yes…" He added. "I would like you to apologize, as well."

The slightly unsavory second-year chimed in, "We want dates with Rise-chan, Yukiko-san, and Chie-san…"

_Uhh…_

Rise responded from her seat, "Now, why should I go on a date with any of you?" She looked slightly annoyed.

"What if we win?" Marie interrupted. She had completely ignored Rise's outburst, as if she would have to accept her fate if they lost.

"What?" one of the members of the other club questioned.

Marie repeated, "What if we win?" She continued. "If we win this shooting match, which I know you obviously think we have no chance because we have less people. I want to know what happens if we win…"

"You won't win," the head of the other club said. "But… I'm sure you have some crazy thing you want."

Marie looked at Souji. When Souji rolled his eyes, she smirked. She turned her head to the club and started, "When we are done shooting everyone, I want the boys to confess undying love to… whatever her name is? That cougar freak?"

"Kashiwagi…," Souji whispered into Marie's ear.

"Kashiwagi!" Marie exclaimed.

"No way!" the head of the opposite club retorted. "I would never do that."

Marie's smirk returned, and widened, "I'm not done." She turned to Rise and said, "I always forget the name of that one pervert teacher who always hits on girls. What's his name?"

"Mr. Yamada…," Yukiko answered for Rise.

_Yamada always hits on Yukiko._

"Exactly…," Marie nodded. "The girls in your club have to confess their love to Yamada."

_You're evil…_

"I don't want to do that, do you?" one of the other girls in the other club said to another.

The president shook his head, "Fine… I'll risk it… just so we can get our club back."

"Perfect…," Marie rubbed her hands together.

Souji took a deep breath, "I know you're not planning this to be a little shoot-em-up. It has to be a little more complicated than that."

The other head brushed his right hand through his hair and said, "Right… here are the rules. It's a converted Capture the Flag game. You can choose the area where you can keep the flag, a "briefcase". If a person holding the "flag" is shot, the "flag" must be dropped and may be returned by the team whose "flag" it is back to its original location. The most club members you can have in your "flag" room at a time is three. One shot in your vest, and you are "dead". "Dead" people do not count towards the three people in a room. First person to bring back the other team's briefcase wins."

"What happens if everyone on your team is incapacitated by lasers?" Chie asked. "Is that a loss as well?

The opposite head nodded, "Yes… All vests make a loud sound when you're hit, and a continuous sound when the game is over."

"When does this start?" Yosuke asked.

The opposite club head replied, "The game starts at 20:00 hours."

_20:00 hours? 8 p.m.? I can't cook for Nanako then… Wait, isn't the school going to be closed?_

"Hey…," Chie noticed Souji's worry as well. "Won't the school be closed? How are we supposed to get out of the school after the fences lock us in the school?"

The president of the other club answered, "There is another faux-exit. It's a weakened fence in the soccer fields that you can vault over very easily. If you can't make it over by yourself, another person can help you over."

"Sounds fun…," Marie said. "I get to stay past the complete closing of school and I get to shoot people."

Souji sighed in annoyance. This was going to be a hassle, and he knew it. He had a feeling that everyone, including him, sucked at laser tag, and there was probably some sort of ringer-ninja on the Calligraphy Club. They would be forced to use the basketball court or some other crap as the club room. The worst part is that he was going to lose the whole evening tomorrow.

"Yes… fun," Souji lied though his teeth.

The President of the Calligraphy club turned his head and nodded to his other officers. He turned his head back and said with a smirk, "We're heading back. Hope you find a good hiding spot for tomorrow…" Before he could leave the room, he turned back and added. "Oh… one more thing. You are not allowed to manipulate desks or tables. You have to leave them in the original positions."

With that, the door slid shut and the Boredom Relief Club were left alone. They now had something to do tomorrow, but there was an actual punishment waiting for them if they lost.

Marie looked to the group after the door closed and said, "You heard the loser. Tomorrow, we have a club to beat. Nobody is skipping club for any reason. Do whatever after school, but hide out and about after school shuts down until twenty minutes to go."

"We're really doing this?" Rise raised her head to the ceiling.

"I'm supposed to work tomorrow, but now I have to find a reason to get out of it," Yosuke shrugged. "Oh well…"

Marie walked over to the laser tag equipment and started inspecting it. She began muttering to herself, "A single pistol for each person and a timed grenade-thing for each person. I bet the other club has machine guns instead of laser pistols."

The group spread various amounts of dissent and annoyance. There was dissent because of their schedules being forcefully rearranged even more than usual, and that they could lose their club room. The annoyance was from the fact that there was no getting out of it. It was apparent that the only one truly excited about going against a club with more members with their club room on the line was not their idea of a good time, or sane.

Yukiko stood up with her briefcase and other items in hand, walked over, and tapped Souji on the shoulder. She asked softly, "Souji… can you follow me for a minute?"

Souji nodded, "Sure…"

_I wonder what she wants…_

"Hey!" Marie called out from the corner where she was observing the weapons and vests. "Twenty minutes before the shootout come get your gear at the club room, and then head to the library."

Yukiko smiled and headed towards the door where the Calligraphy Club had just left. She slid open the door and walked out. Souji followed her out the door, sliding the old English Classroom door before he left.

"Where are we going, Yukiko?" Souji asked, following her back into the Classroom Building.

"You'll see…," Yukiko responded.

_That's ominous…_

The two went from the entrance of the Classroom Building to the stairwells. They went up first to the third floor, and then up to the roof. Yukiko gestured for Souji to follow her onto the far corner of the roof. She took a seat on the concrete edge and Souji took a seat next to her. As they both placed their school briefcases down, Souji started, "So…?"

_Why are we here?_

"Oh…," Yukiko looked startled. She recovered slightly. "Do you remember what one of the conditions were when you asked me to help the rest of your club members before exam time?"

"I think so…," Souji said. "Wasn't it something like, "I have to help you get better at cooking through critiquing."?"

"Uh huh…," Yukiko nodded. "If you still want to help me with that… I mean, you don't have to."

_I should help her…_

Souji nodded for what was probably the thousandth time that day. He said to the girl with the red headband, "Of course I'll help."

"Really?" Yukiko smiled wide. "T…Thank you."

The other item Yukiko had with her was a red bento and she took the cloth-covered box from beneath her feet. She handed the box lunch over to the silver-haired second-year who had graciously offered to test the food of someone who had been nearly killed by her food less than two months ago.

_Here it goes…_

He unwrapped and opened the bento box to see a simple omelet. It looked very plain and simplistic, but at least it was not giving off a revolting smell like the food at the Camping Trip. He took his utensil and took a large bite.

_Huh…_

"How is it?' Yukiko looked nervous.

The first second of Souji's bite was normal; it just tasted unseasoned and overcooked. The next second of Souji's bite, however, he struck something incredibly hard. Instead of trying to break his teeth, he swallowed it. It felt like a burnt overcooked yolk entered his mouth, if that was even possible. If there was something worse than the Mystery Food X of the Camping Trip, that hard enigma within the omelet was it.

Souji struggled not to cough while Yukiko waited for his answer. He did not want to upset Yukiko, but he did not want to exactly lie to her either.

"Well…," Souji finally managed to get out. "It was a nice try…"

Yukiko looked slightly disheartened by Souji's comment. She frowned and said, "You could just say it wasn't very good."

Souji took a deep breath. He tried to encourage her, "You'll do better next time." He asked. "If I can ask… why are you starting to cook all of a sudden?"

"I wanted to become more independent," Yukiko answered. Her words started to slow down. "But… every time I try, something just goes wrong. I get interrupted by something or someone and it goes horribly wrong."

Souji tried to be empathetic, "I understand. I screw up cooking for my cousin all the time. I feel pressure to get it perfect for her every time, but there are times I mess up dinner, too. I feel awful when it happens, but I just have to do better the next time."

"I didn't know you cook for cousin," Yukiko looked a little happier. She looked slightly relieved that someone else failed at cooking besides her. She asked. "Do you cook for her every day?"

"I try to…," Souji answered. "Unless… there's something that stops me from being there…"

"Like tomorrow?" Yukiko said.

Souji nodded in solemn confirmation. He eventually said, "We'll manage."

"That's good… I'm sure she really appreciates it…," Yukiko said. Her head lowered for a moment before she focused on Souji, "Umm… do you mind helping me out again… with the cooking?" Her face was one of desperation as she looked at Souji.

_I might die… but… she really wants help._

Souji answered her, "Next time you make something, I'll try it out."

Yukiko reddened slightly, "Th… thank you…, Souji…"

"You're welcome…," Souji responded. He handed the bento back to Yukiko and stood up. "I will meet you in class tomorrow."

"Tomorrow…," Yukiko said. She stood up as well. As Souji started to walk away, she called out, "Souji… thanks again…"

With that, he left not only the roof, but Yasogami High. He was headed straight home for multiple reasons. The obvious reason was to throw up the food he had consumed. He would have done so at one Yaosgami's restrooms, but there was always a small chance that Yukiko might hear him ripping apart his esophagus. He would wait out of common courtesy to lose his afternoon meal. Another obvious reason was to get home to Nanako to make dinner. The most obvious reason was he now had to find something for Nanako tomorrow because there was no way he would make it home before Nanako would go to sleep.

Souji barely made it home in time today to make dinner for Nanako. He was in a hurry, and made a slightly above-average meal for her. He felt like Yukiko did because his dinner was not perfect. His only solace was the information given to him by Nanako that his uncle should be home early tomorrow so he would not have to worry too much about tomorrow's dinner.

_As long as my dinner isn't provided by Yukiko… ehh… I don't need dinner. As long as Nanako gets something worthwhile._

The next day, after all of his classes, he again found himself on the roof. He was face-to-face with Chie, but he was not exactly standing face-to-face with her. One of his legs was extended far to one side, and his other leg was jutting out far in front of him. For one reason or another, he had been roped into warming up with Chie to kill time before the Boredom Relief Club loses club room.

Souji grimaced at the tension of his stretch. He eked out a question, "So, why are we doing this again?"

"You promised me that you would," Chie responded by changing legs. She continued. "You forget to help me study, remember?"

_I forget one thing…_

Souji had followed Chie into a stretch of pulling the leg up to their back from a standing position, "Well, why are we stretching out now? You said we are training, too."

Chie rolled her eyes, "We need to stretch considering we have a physical activity of who knows exactly how much in a few hours. We might have to perform plenty of strenuous exercise and you don't want to pull muscles."

Souji begrudgingly agreed with her. He went through different sets of stretches with her until she thought they were thoroughly limbered up. Souji was not exactly sure for how much longer they were going to stretch until she asked him to help with one final exercise.

"Okay… so what do I have to do?" Souji asked.

Chie responded, "I'm going to turn around and I want you to help me pull my arms behind my back to stretch out my shoulders."

_Your deltoids, okay…_

Chie turned around and held her arms at her side so Souji could do what she asked. He rolled his eyes, stepped forward, and grabbed her wrists. He was going to start pulling her arms back when he stopped.

_Her wrists are softer than I expected, but… this is…_

"Chie… this is not efficient," Souji said, releasing her wrists.

Chie turned back around, "What do you mean? What's wrong with it?"

"Wouldn't the most effective way to do this stretch be to just lock your hands behind your back and pull up?" Souji inquired.

"I guess that could work," Chie agreed. "I'll try it."

As Souji watched Chie pull her arms back, he nearly forgot how far forward that stretch pushed her chest forward into a position of prominence. He was not a person to redden, but he averted his eyes out of common courtesy. He was sure if it was Teddie or Yosuke, they would not be averting their eyes like he was.

_I'm glad no one else is around…_

After the awkward stretch, the two sat near the corner where he tried Yukiko's food yesterday. They attempted to kill time with small talk. The two were going to train, but it somehow got sidetracked. Souji did not complain.

"I don't think we'll win tonight," Souji adjusted his seating position on the hard concrete or whatever hard surface it was.

Chie said, "I don't know why Marie believes we will win this."

"She bet our club room on this…," Souji tried a chuckle.

"I wonder if Marie remembered that if we lose, Yukiko and Rise will have to go on dates with the Calligraphy Club boys," Chie rolled her eyes. She stood up and retied the green jacket around her waist. She had removed the jacket before she started stretching with Souji.

"I guess it gives you a reason to win our shootout," Souji said.

Chie nodded, "That's true. I won't let some random second-year go on a date with Yukiko."

"I don't think Yukiko would want to go out with someone she doesn't know either," Souji said. "I don't think any of the girls in the club would want to do that."

"Definitely…," Chie said confidently.

"Yeah…," Souji reiterated. "So… how are we going to kill the rest of this time?"

"I have no idea…," Chie replied.

Souji moved off the bench-like shelf and sat on the floor of the roof. He rested his back against the support bench and began waiting with Chie for it to close in the starting time. After an hour of waiting, the two of them headed off the roof and out of the Classroom Building to the Practice Building. They walked over to the old English Classroom and slid open the door.

Chie looked to the corner where the laser tag equipment was yesterday; she saw there were only two pistols and vests left. She turned her head to Souji and said, "I guess everyone already picked up their vests and headed over to their "base"."

"Then we should get our gear and head over ourselves," Souji said. "I bet there is someone who will yell at us if we don't hurry."

Souji walked over with Chie to the laser tag equipment and picked up the vests. He handed one of them to Chie. He then picked up the circular-like pistols with the trigger in the middle and again handed one to the brunette. He kept both in his right hand and nodded at Chie before heading out of the club room with her right next to him.

As Souji closed the club door behind him, he said to Chie, "Let's just hope no one sees us walk into the library."

Chie walked ahead slightly, "It would give away our position before our game started. It would hurt our chances even more."

"Let's not be seen then…," Souji said, checking his watch.

Chie and Souji slowly walked down the darkened hallways from their club room in the Practice Building to the Classroom Building. They passed their own classroom, 2-2, and then 2-1. The two reached the library and after a nod by Chie, Souji slid open the door to the room with countless shelves and one long wooden table and walked in with his training partner right behind.

There were five people already inside the library when Souji and Chie entered. Yukiko, Marie, and Rise were standing at the far end of the long wooden table with their vests and laser tag pistols on the tables. Yosuke and Teddie were standing by a bookshelf on Chie and Souji's right, making small talk. Souji noticed that on the middle of the table, was a school briefcase, covered in a red cloth-like material.

_I guess we're the red team._

Chie walked over to Yukiko and the two other girls of the club. The brunette asked Yukiko, "Have you been waiting long?"

Yukiko shook her head, "No… not at all…."

Marie rolled her eyes, "Well, Yukiko-senpai might have just gotten here, but Rise and I have been waiting for a while."

_She wasn't asking you…_

Chie did not look happy at Marie's intrusion, but she still said, "Sorry, Marie-chan…"

The four girls started talking about random things of the day; Souji decided not to pay attention and head to the other side of the library.

Souji stood over by Yosuke and Teddie. He asked the guy who wore headphones around his neck regardless of the season in a somewhat sarcastic manner, "Are you ready to shoot people with lasers?"

"I guess so…," Yosuke responded. "I don't think this was how I originally planned on this equipment on being used, ya know?"

_Considering he was tricked into buying it… probably…_

"Definitely," Souji nodded. He questioned. "Is that briefcase our flag?"

Teddie responded, "Yep… a cute first-year girl of the Calligraphy Club came up to me and said, "Wrap this cloth on your case and it will be your flag. Your team's flag will be red, ours will be blue."

_Of course he had to mention that she was "cute"._

Yosuke was looking at the vest he was supposed to wear with a slightly inquisitive face. He looked a little confused. Souji asked him, "What's wrong?"

"This vest looks a little funny…," Yosuke said. "For one thing, it looks kind of like it was made for children."

Souji took a better look at his vest and saw that it would not even go down halfway his abdominals. This type of laser gun vest was definitely not something made for high school students. It was not one you would find in a laser tag center where high school students hung out.

"I see what you mean, Yosuke," Souji replied. "It's way too short…"

"The other thing is that the way it fits…," Yosuke continued. "It's like if an older person is going to wear it… it has to be a guy."

Souji frowned. It did look like it would really uncomfortable for a girl to put on. However, Souji could not decide that for himself. It was not like he could tell that firsthand as a guy.

_The only way I would know is if someone said it was uncomfortable… a girl preferably._

Teddie suddenly said, "Let's ask Marie about it."

_About what?_

The blond-haired playboy turned away from Yosuke and Souji until he faced Marie and Rise. He called out to the girl who was still wearing black and red-striped cloth forearm-length gloves with her fingers showing, "Marie-chan! Have you tried on your vest yet?"

Marie focused her attention on Teddie. She responded quickly and succinctly, "No… I have not."

"Can you tell me how it fits?" Teddie questioned.

Marie raised an eyebrow in Teddie's direction, "You pervert…"

Despite Teddie's comment, Marie picked up her vest and slowly put it over her head. As Souji suspected would happen, Marie struggled to pull it all the way the down to her waist, or connect the side straps around her back.

_Looks like it a pain in the ass to put on, but… I bet it's a pain no matter who you are._

"This sucks…," Marie muttered.

"Need help?" Yosuke asked with what was obviously a slightly perverted look.

Marie responded curtly as she finally finished strapping on the vest, "If you don't step back right now…"

"Gotcha…," Yosuke stepped back faster than seemed humanly possible.

Marie turned to the others and said, "Let's get suited up…"

"Okay…," Rise said.

_Ehh…_

Souji took his vest and to the best of his ability, pulled his vest over his head. It was way too short. He could hear the other club members having the same difficulties that he was having. Eventually, he finished strapping the links around his back, and adjusted the vest to be slightly less uncomfortable.

_If it's this uncomfortable for me, I wonder what it feels like for Marie…_

"Man, this sucks…," Chie muttered, trying to adjust her vest.

"I don't know if this fits…," Yukiko said.

_I don't think it actually fits anyone…_

Before Yosuke could make a comment on helping her make it fit, Marie cut in, "Alright, power up your guns, and I'll explain our plan…"

_Wait… Marie came up with a battle strategy?_

Rise shared Souji's skepticism, "Marie… you don't know anything about strategy…"

"Quiet, Rise…," Marie retorted. "Now, listen up!"

Souji rolled his eyes and pressed the "Power" button on the side of his laser tag pistol. He watched the others do the same with a small temporary hum that quickly disappeared.

As soon as the humming stopped, Marie went into her battle plan, "You can have a maximum of three "live" people in the library at any time, but because we have less people… we are only keeping two people on base defense."

"Is that smart?" Chie questioned.

Yosuke shrugged, "The best defense is a good offense."

"Exactly…," Marie said. She continued. "Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai will take the base defense."

"Why not me and Yuki-chan?" Teddie asked.

"Because you're a pervert, and I bet Chie is a better shot than you…," Marie explained. "They know each other."

_That's actually pretty smart._

Yukiko looked at Chie and said, "Looks like we're together…"

Chie replied, "Yeah…"

Marie went on, "Now we need two people to go search for their flag and make guerilla attacks."

Teddie quickly raised his hand, "Rise and I will go!"

Marie rolled her eyes, "You'd just scout off into a classroom and flirt with her." She looked to Yosuke. "You're going with Teddie as the scout team. You two know each other well, and no one will care if you die."

_I don't know if that's smart or just really mean…_

Before Yosuke or Teddie could make a comment, Marie finished, "That leaves me, Rise, and Souji-senpai."

"Why does Souji-senpai get to be with Rise-chan and Marie-chan?" Teddie asked.

"It's because Senpai isn't a complete pervert like every other guy in our club," Marie responded with a smile.

_I don't know if I should be happy about that or not. Her perception of her might change in five seconds anyways…_

"Anyways, the three of us will be the group that'll slowly advance from the library to wherever the other club's base is," Marie explained.

Souji looked over to Rise, "I'm in your hands, Rise-chan…"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Rise gave a small smile.

_We'll find out…_

"It's just about time for it to start, so get ready to move in a minute," Marie said.

Yosuke gave a quick nod to Teddie, and they left the library a few seconds after Marie's comment. The door slid shut behind the pair and the fight between the two clubs officially began. Souji turned to Marie and said, "Should we go too?"

Marie nodded before she turned to Yukiko and Chie. She said to the two second-years, "Defend this briefcase with your life…"

_Your life?_

Marie turned back to Rise, "Come on, Rise… Senpai…"

"See you later, Chie… Yukiko….," Souji gave a short wave goodbye, following Rise and Marie out of the library.

Chie and Yukiko's reply to Souji's was cut off by an abrupt closing of the library door. Marie was not facing him, but she still directed her words to him, "Are you done flirting?"

_I guess saying goodbye is flirting now…_

"Marie-chan…," Souji realized.

"What?" she questioned.

"You forgot to bring the other weapons with you…," Souji told him.

Marie shrugged, "Too late to worry about that now…"

The darkened hallways of the second floor were quite eerie and Souji was quite happy in his belief that the school was probably either too cheap or too poor to hire a security guard. They would not have to worry about being arrested for trespassing if that was the case. It was very different from his old school.

_Marie could probably get us out of it, regardless…_

Souji could barely see the disappearing figures of Yosuke and Teddie head downstairs. Knowing the fact that those two were on the first floor, Souji suggested that the three of them start by searching the second and third floor. At Marie's insistence, he took the point and slowly slid open the door of 2-1.

As he opened the door, Rise whispered, "Be careful… Marie and I will watch your back."

Souji sighed; he readied his circular pistol by putting it up to his chest, and slowly entered the classroom. His eyes scanned the room, looking not only for members of the Calligraphy Club, but also for their "flag". He walked through the desks as slow as possible, looking inside each alcove, all while keeping a lookout for anybody to shoot.

_2-2… is empty._

Souji looked back to the pair and said, "There's nothing here…"

"Onto 2-1, then…," Marie told Souji.

Souji shook his head as he left 2-2. He entered 2-1 in the exact same fashion as his own classroom a minute before. The result of the search of 2-1 was exactly the same as well. There was nobody inside 2-1.

_I really doubted they would put the "flag" there, or that there would be anyone there._

Souji looked to Marie when he got back to their side. He questioned, "Do you want to look to the third floor classrooms, or do you want to finish the other rooms? What about the Practice Building?"

"Let's just stick to the Classroom Building for now…," Marie answered. "Stay on point, Senpai…"

_Of course I'm supposed to stay in front… Hope you don't get shot in the back…_

The three of them went up the stairs, taking it as slow as possible. Marie was actually covering Rise's back as they made it up to the third floor classrooms. Souji again scoured the classrooms, looking for something and someone. There was no one and nothing around except for empty desks and chairs. It was a little frustrating for Souji. He did not really want to be in this game, but if he had to… he wanted to shoot something.

Souji had just come out of the third-years' classrooms. Again, he turned to his teammates and asked, "Now what? Head back downstairs and check up on the others? Or… should we start on the first floor?"

"Check up on the others…," Rise suggested, standing face-to-face with Souji.

"Fine…," Marie didn't look too happy about it, but agreed to it. "Go ahead, Souji-senpai…"

Souji started to move forward towards the stairwell. He stepped slowly with Rise right by his side and Marie straight behind him. He could feel Rise's shoulder almost touching his right shoulder. His short quick breaths were full of concentration as he started to make the turn to go back to the second floor of the Classroom Building. Right as his body became parallel with the second half of the staircase, Souji heard the fire of two laser pistols and two unfamiliar male figures facing him.

_Shit!_

Souji pulled Rise behind him as he pulled her away from the wall and back behind the long walled rail on the right. Souji lost his balance in the rush of both pulling Rise away and saving his own skin. He was now on his knees, but it was not as uncomfortable as it should be; he should be lying on steps.

_I feel something comfortable_

He looked up and saw Marie a few steps up, crouching with her gun up against her chest, and with a disapproving look on her face. He looked down and saw why Marie might be unhappy, and why it was not as uncomfortable as it should be. His legs were tangled up with something that felt like cloth, and his hands were in contact with something extremely soft. He could feel breath against his face… Rise's breath against his face. He looked down and saw Rise with a slightly reddened face.

_Her wrists are soft…_

Souji heard a coughing sound then Rise's voice, "This is only slightly uncomfortable…"

"Sorry…," Souji said extremely softly.

As Souji was placing one hand to the left of Rise's shoulder to easily get away from her, Marie muttered, "Well, I'm glad someone is having a little fun… Next time… try landing on her chest…"

"Marie…," Rise responded softly.

_She sounds jealous I didn't land on her…_

The laser fire from the two members of Calligraphy Club continued even while Marie made her remarks. Marie rolled her eyes and stepped ahead of the other two. She jumped towards the far wall in a way that Souji did not think was possible, firing her laser pistol at the two male Calligraphy Club members. Souji could not tell what was aiming at what, but he heard two sounds of vests being deactivated. The sounds came from the second floor as the two members of the Calligraphy Club fell down as told to if they were shot.

_She got them…_

Marie turned back to Souji, who had an impressed look on his face, and said, "See how easy it is…"

_Guess so…_

"Marie!" Rise exclaimed. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine…," Marie smirked. "Are you done being harassed?"

Souji rolled his eyes, "Don't you think we should go check on Chie and Yukiko if there are Calligraphy Club members on this floor?"

Marie nodded and the all three of them quickly headed down the hallway. Just before Marie could get to the library, Souji stuck his arm out and called out in a whisper, "Wait…"

"What is it?" Marie responded in a slightly louder tone.

Souji put a finger horizontally to his lips, "The door is open… we didn't leave it open…"

"Maybe one of them had to go to the bathroom?" Marie guessed.

Souji sighed and said, "I'll go and check it out…" He said to Marie. "Protect Rise-chan…"

Marie responded, "She can protect herself… I'm going with you…"

_I wonder why she's going with me this time…_

Souji cursed inwardly for doing something foolish and rushed into the library. Standing inside with their "flag" in hand was four members of the opposite club, including the member who appeared to be the Calligraphy Club's President's girlfriend. Luckily, his opponents looked slightly surprised, so Souji started firing haphazardly towards two members who were grouped together while moving towards shelves that might provide cover. He heard the two members' vests deactivate, but as he ran towards the shelves, a fifth member came out from the shelves. There was nowhere for Souji to go except right in the fifth member's sights.

_Crap…_

Just before he could hear his vest deactivate, Souji felt a gloved pull on his right arm. He was pulled away from the shelves and laser fire from his side. The club member that he was sure was going to get him was deactivated by the person who had pulled him away a millisecond before. The same girl that had saved him, Marie, had also deactivated the other two members of the Calligraphy Club in the library.

_Jeez Marie… cleaning up._

Marie let go of his arm and looked at him with a satisfied look. She stepped over to where the Vice President had taken their "flag" and placed it back on the long wooden table. At the same time, Rise tentatively entered the room and closed the door behind her.

Souji looked down at the carnage and directed his thanks to the person who rescued him, "Thanks, Marie-chan."

"You can pay me back later," Marie was readjusting the "flag" on the table.

Rise looked around, "Where are Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai?"

"I'll look for them," Souji said.

He took a deep breath and found them relaxing with depressed and disappointed looks at the back of the library. He returned to the front of the library and replied, "They're there, but they've been hit."

Rise frowned, "They had no chance against five Calligraphy Club members…"

"That's what we get when there are only two defenders protecting our "flag"," Souji said. He sighed. "We have to go in with the mindset that they used overwhelming members to take out Yosuke and Teddie as well." He did not care about using suffixes when it came to Teddie.

Marie shrugged, "Then let's just hope that those two pervs took out a few along the way." She readied her gun. "There's only one plan with Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai down."

"And what's that?" Rise asked.

_I think I know what she has in mind…_

"Make a mad dash for their flag…," Marie explained.

"We don't know where it is, though," Rise countered. She had taken up a spot near the door in case anyone tried to open the door.

"What is probably the best when it comes to a protected place in the school?" Marie asked.

Souji thought for a second, "Well… the Music Room is wide-open, but it has huge metal doors. Then again… there are very few small, enclosed rooms in this place."

Rise and Marie looked to each other and nodded. Marie turned to Souji and said, "We're going to the Music Room."

_We just have to pray that Yosuke and Teddie took out somebody… but there might only be three left regardless…_

Again, the three of them headed down the hallway, but this time they headed downstairs to the first floor. It was extremely quiet as they reached the shoeboxes and made the turn away from the first-year classrooms in the direction of the Faculty Office. They slowly walked towards the Music Room.

_I guess the only advantage for us is that the doors are so thick that they couldn't hear laser fire. The school doesn't want the classes to hear the band, so they won't hear us coming._

The three stopped just outside of the large metal doors; the other club's members would notice right away if someone started to open one of the doors.

_I don't think I'm the only one who noticed that…_

Standing just in front of the other two, Souji took a deep breath and asked, "What do you think we should do? If there are three of them in there?"

Marie smirked, "I think Rise and I should open the door, and you should stand in front of the open door as we open it and fire wildly at anyone inside."

"I'm the sacrificial lamb?" Souji questioned.

Marie's smirk widened, "You bet…"

Souji rolled his eyes. He sighed again, "You two better finish up the mess after I get lit up."

Rise said from behind, "We'll try and finish it before you get deactivated."

"Try…," Marie said sarcastically.

_Of course Marie had to say it like that…_

After ten seconds and a few more reassuring words from Rise, Souji took a deep breath and stood partially in front of the right metal door of the Music Room. Marie and Rise took their positions to open the right door and then hide behind the right door. With a nod by Souji, Marie started pulling open the door and Souji hurried in. He scanned the room as fast as possible and saw one slightly overweight club member, a first-year girl, and the President himself. On the conductor's stand was their briefcase, and Souji was almost tempted to go straight for it. However, he aimed his circular gun right at the slowest draws, the first-year girl and the slightly overweight guy. He fired repeatedly and beat those two to the punch.

_Come on…_

The two club members tried to duck behind music stands, but he heard two deactivation sounds. The silver-haired young man tried to turn his attention and his gun to where the President was, but he had moved from his original position. He turned his head, trying to find him. His head had turned just far enough to see him, just in time to hear his vest announce him being hit by an accurate shot from the President's pistol.

_Damn…_

Souji was inwardly cursing. He wanted to finish this without being shot. Before he could emit an actual curse word upon the real world, a curse word was emitted from the President and the sound of victory rang out from all of the vests simultaneously.

"We won?" Souji raised an eyebrow.

Souji turned around and saw Rise standing there with a smile and her laser gun facing the President.

"We won…," Rise smiled.

Next Chapter: Chapter 6: A Textile Detective

The next chapter is the next story-based chapter, while this one is a "filler" chapter. I've never written a laser tag chapter, and while it was not my best… I tried.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6- The Textile Detective**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. For those who are not typical students of Yasogami, I made up their ages and if you don't like the ages I decided… well you know my rule about it. I expect ethical respect from my readers, but if you don't want to be a respectful reader; I want you to hit the back button.

P.S.: All sorts of OOC stuff. Persona rules on suffixes #5 Boredom Relief Members are not required to attend every meeting.

P.S.S.: You are free to give suggestions on pairings or whatever…

P.S.S.: Souji is meant to be indecisive (there is a reason, and if you can't figure out why…)

_Souji's thoughts_

* * *

_**A couple of School Days after the Duel in the School: Boredom Relief Club**_

The past two school days after the dramatic laser tag battle after school were eventful, depending on who you spoke to. The school day after the battle where Souji was shot right before Rise finished off the leader of the Calligraphy Club with a well-timed shot was filled with confessions and rumors as Marie enforced her frightful punishment of either confessing endless love for either Kashiwagi or Yamada depending on the gender of the confessor. Not a soul in the Calligraphy Club showed up today either out of fear or embarrassment.

Souji used his own rule of being able to skip the Boredom Relief Club to his advantage, because of the competition. He still felt the lingering effects of it all for some reason. Another was that Dojima was home before him, which meant a stern lecture by his uncle. Finally, he was sick of missing out on being unable to cook for his little cousin. No matter what, he was not going to miss it; even if it meant Marie finding him by the gates before school and threatening punishment. Souji ignored her.

Today had something else that could give Marie a reason to punish. The exam scores had been released during lunch time, and as he expected, Souji was first of all second-year students. The problem was the scores of the other students in the club. He might have had highest score and Yukiko had the second-highest, but the other second-years' scores were not as impressive despite his help. Souji was more worried about what the scores were of one first-year in particular.

Currently, Souji was the only one in the club room. He had arrived before anyone else and carefully placed his school briefcase against the far side of the wall; it was the only area not filled with junk that Yosuke was tricked into buying by Marie's devilishness. He took a seat in the nearest seat to the door on the left and slid forward a little to relax, and relaxed his head against his neck.

Before Souji could slip off into third nap of the day, he was rudely interrupted by a loud abrupt opening and then closing of the club doors. The first-year with short black hair, a blue hat, and a sleeveless blouse had a very annoyed look on her face as she walked towards Souji.

Souji greeted lazily, "Good afternoon, Marie-chan…"

Marie completely ignored Souji and instead rolled her eyes. She turned away from him and walked to the direction opposite of where Souji had put his school bag. She stopped in front of the large stack of board games that were now in the club room and placed her bag against the pile. She grabbed the top board game from the stack, Checkers, and walked back to the table and sat across from Souji.

_Is she just expecting us two at the club because Checkers is a two person game?_

She slid the board game to him and said brusquely, "Hurry up and unbox it… you're red…"

_I guess we are playing…_

Souji shrugged, "Okay…"

Souji lifted open the box and placed the board on the table, the checkers that had been left on top falling haphazardly back in the red box. He then took out the black checkers and pushed them towards Marie. He followed by taking out the red checkers. Simultaneously, they began setting up the checkers on the board.

As soon as all the checkers were in place, Marie muttered darkly, "Black goes first…"

The individual duel of small circular pieces began. Every one of Souji's moves were countered by vigorous moves of Marie's. Every time Marie moved a piece, it was with unnecessary force as well. It was like she trying to kill the board. Souji could sense the annoyance permeating through her moves.

Halfway through the game, Souji held the slight lead in amount of pieces captured, four to three. He was almost in a position to king a piece as well, if Marie made a slight mistake. The piece close to be doubled-up was near the corner and protected from behind. He waited for Marie to move, waited for a mistake. The mistake was made on the next turn.

"King me…," Souji smirked.

Marie's glare permeated throughout the club room as she placed one of Souji's formerly captured pieces back on top of the piece that had reached the other end of the board. After making Souji's checker a king, she sat there, not making a move for a minute. It was getting annoying.

"It's your turn, Marie-chan," Souji reminded her.

Marie snapped back, "I'm thinking!"

_She seems really mad._

Souji started watching Marie's face as it slowly purpled as she grew more and more frustrated. It would be incredibly interesting if she was not also angry for some reason. He had an inkling why she was annoyed, but he would rather not guess.

Marie took a deep breath and prepared to move a piece. Just as she lowered her hand to move a checker, her head turned as the door slid open and the first-year with dark red pigtails came through the door with a bright smile on her face. As soon as Rise noticed Souji sitting at the table across from Marie, the first-year from red-haired girl walked straight to him and said, "Senpai! Senpai!"

Souji turned his head towards Rise and asked as calmly as he could, "What is it?"

Rise exclaimed loudly, "I passed all of my classes, Senpai!"

"Oh really?" Souji was unsure of what to say. He sort of expected her to pass the classes. Yukiko helped her study, after all.

Rise nodded, her smile stayed wide, "It was all thanks to you!"

_Me? All we did when we studied… was watch Marie and Rise argue…_

"It was no problem, I guess…," Souji shrugged.

The next moment, he heard the crash of a checker board flying across the room. Souji turned his head towards the head of the table to see the board on the floor with the checkers all over the place. He looked across the table to see a fuming Marie glaring at him.

From Souji's side, he heard from Rise in a calm voice, "Marie… what's wrong?"

Marie exclaimed in return, "Why are you thanking him!? You didn't pass because of him! He's a worthless teacher!"

Souji could tell Rise's cheerful mood had disappeared as she answered, "How do you know why you failed English and Geography!? It might be because you just are a failure…!"

"Don't tell me I'm a failure!" Marie yelled.

The yelling between the two former idols continued for so long that Souji pushed his chair back and stood up. He started to turn away and head out of the door. However, the door slid open before he had a chance to leave and Yukiko took one step inside the club room.

"Uhh… hi…," Yukiko greeted. As the yelling was louder than her greeting, she asked Souji, "Is this a bad time?"

Souji shook his head and responded, "I'm not really sure…"

The yelling continued in the background and Yukiko frowned. She looked to Souji and said, "Maybe I should come back later?"

"I think we're fine…," Souji reassured her. "They're just arguing over test scores."

"If you say so…," Yukiko said.

Before Souji could continue the conversation, he was interrupted by Marie. She called out, "Souji-senpai!"

"What…?" Souji sighed, turning back to Marie.

"Who bought these cheap tablecloths?" Marie help up the cheap white cloth that covered the long white wooden table. There was a long extremely visible tear in the tablecloth. Souji had no idea how it tore so quickly.

A voice from just outside the club room responded, "You forced me to buy tablecloths; the list did not tell me what kind of tablecloths to buy."

_Yosuke?_

The young man with fluffy brown hair walked even with Souji and muttered, "Why is she so angry about tablecloths?"

Souji responded in a similar quiet tone, "It's a long story…"

"I'm sure…," Yosuke said.

Meanwhile, Marie had stood up and walked towards Souji, Yosuke, and Yukiko. She looked much more determined than angry at this point. She stepped right in front of Souji until she was centimeters away and said in a slow and softer than expected voice, "I… want you to buy me nice, new tablecloths…"

_Why me?_

When Souji raised the question with Marie, she answered in as a controlled voice as possible, "It's your job as President of the Boredom Relief Club to buy any and all items necessary for the club."

_Seriously?_

"Since when?" Souji questioned. "Didn't Yosuke buy most of the items you see here in the club room?"

Marie poked him in the chest, her cool façade starting to shatter, "Since the moment I say so…"

Souji started shaking his head. Before he could make a remark in protest, Yukiko intervened, "Marie-chan… I have a better idea."

Marie took a step back from Souji and turned her attention to the girl with long black hair. With an annoyed face, she asked, "And what would that idea be, Yukiko-senpai?"

"If you want nice cloth for tablecloths, the best place to go would probably be Tatsumi Textiles in the Shopping District," Yukiko answered. "Souji wouldn't know where to go..."

"And how do you know about it?" Marie questioned.

Yukiko answered simply, "It's because we use their cloth and fabrics at our inn…"

Yosuke gave an inquisitive look and asked, "Is that the place with that really scary first-year?"

"Scary first-year?" Yukiko questioned. "Kanji-kun?"

"You know him, Yukiko?" Yosuke looked surprised.

Yukiko nodded, "From when we were younger…"

"So what do you know of this guy?" Marie asked.

"I heard that this guy is a real hell-raiser who beat the crap out of a biker gang that was keeping his mom up at night," Yosuke said. "He doesn't come to school often, but I hear the entire school is scared shitless of him."

"The whole school is scared of him?" Marie said to herself. She smiled, her mood completely different than before. "I think he'd be perfect for the club."

Rise, who had been completely silent for a while, muttered, "You would…"

Marie heard Rise's comment and commented, "What!? What if the Calligraphy Club comes back!? We might need the muscle!" She calmed down for a second. "Besides, if he's the son of the owner, then we can probably get a second discount out of this textile shop."

Yukiko took a deep breath, "I don't know if he would really be interested in joining a club."

"Why not?" Marie crossed her arms, her long black and red striped gloves now mismatching in an interesting fashion.

_Not everyone wants to join your club, Marie…_

Souji shrugged, "I just have this weird feeling that he won't…"

Marie stepped past everyone, "We'll just have to make him join." She did not turn around, but told everyone. "Our club is on the go!"

"We're going now?" Yosuke questioned.

"Now…," Marie nodded.

Souji sighed. He would have to clean up the mess made by Marie later. He went over to get his school briefcase when he heard Marie's voice from outside the club room, "Can you get my bag, Senpai?"

A few minutes later, the five of them were outside of the iron gates of Yasogami High. They were headed away from the school and towards the Shopping District. Souji was walking in front of Marie and Rise, even with Yosuke, but behind Yukiko. She was leading the way because she was familiar with the textile store. As they made their way towards the Shopping District, Souji only half-turned his head and questioned Yosuke, "Hey, so is Teddie working or something?"

Yosuke nodded, "He had to go in early because he was late the past few shifts." Souji's headphone-wearing friend stretched out his arms. "I'm going into work as soon as this mess is all cleared up."

"Oh… okay," Souji said. He then quickened his pace slightly until he was even with Yukiko and then asked her. "Was Chie busy today?"

"Chie?" Yukiko turned her head. "Oh… she said she had things to do."

_Things to do? I wonder if she had to walk the dog or something…_

Marie cut in from behind, "Two people are missing from our club… they would get punished if not for your stupid rule, Souji-senpai…"

_That's exactly why I instituted the rule, Marie…_

Rise said, "It doesn't matter if they are there, or not. Isn't the real purpose is to get new tablecloths?"

Marie responded, "Oh… that? I'd rather just get this new, and intriguing guy Yukiko and Yosuke told me about for our club."

_Her attention span is like that of a two-year-old._

Souji was left wondering why Marie was even mad about the tablecloths in the first place, considering she completely forgot about them as soon as she found about someone else she might be able to recruit. It almost made him believe that she knew about the guy living at the textile shop beforehand, so she waited for the opportune moment to try and get him to join.

After they passed into the Shopping District, past not only Marukyu Tofu and Marie's supposed creepy underground residence, and straight into the Northern section. When the five of them walked even with both the nearby shrine and the ramen shop, Marie questioned Yukiko, "Where is this place?"

Yukiko pointed ahead at a small brown building, sandwiched between two closed stores, "It's right there…"

The five of them walked until they drew even with the textile shop. From the outside, Souji could see plenty of samples of cloth from the window. There were many more by the counter, but Souji could not really distinguish them. It looked like a quaint little shop to him.

Marie did not look impressed as she stood next to Souji and said, "This is the place? It's so… small."

Souji rolled his eyes as Yosuke smirked, "I guess the phrase "Size doesn't matter…" doesn't fit here?"

"Does it really matter?" Rise said to the group. "We're here, aren't we?"

The door to the textile shop suddenly opened as a tall young man with short spiked bleached hair and an interesting take on a Yasogami High uniform. His school jacket was wide open to display a black shirt of skull and crossbones. He had a pierced nose and multiple piercings in his ears as well. Souji had a feeling that this was the young man Yosuke and Yukiko were talking about.

With his arms at his side in a threatening position, the young man with bleached hair yelled out to the members of the Boredom Relief Club who were milling out around, "Hey! What are you guys doing around here!? Standing around here doing nothing is bad for business!"

"Oh crap!" Yosuke yelled and took a step back. Souji wanted to take a step back as well, but he thought that Marie would yell at him if did not hold his ground.

_He does seem volatile _

As soon as he finished yelling, Marie walked straight up to him until she would be capable of locking lips if she leaned forward. Immediately, the young man started to blush a little with having a girl stand so close to him. Marie smirked as she said, "Okay, okay… we're just here to talk to you and your mom."

The young man backed away from Marie, possibly to free himself from her influence, and said, "You can't just stand around. If you want to talk to me and my mom… you have to come inside."

"Let's go inside then…," Marie said. She turned to the others. "Right?"

Souji looked to Rise and Yosuke for just a moment before all of them walked inside Tatsumi Textiles. Inside the store was a counter full of sample cloths. There were multitudes of colors, and a variety of sample scarves and others textile-like necessary models. Even the carpeting beneath the wizened woman in front of them; she was kneeling on a colorful textile carpeting that Souji bet was made by her store.

As soon as Yukiko came through the door, the wizened woman in front of them greeted her, "Yuki-chan, how wonderful it is to see you again…"

_This has to be Kanji's mother…_

"Hello again…," Yukiko nodded.

Kanji's mother said, "You are looking more and more like your mother every day."

Yukiko reddened slightly, "Why… thank you…"

_I wonder what Yukiko's mother looks like…_

Kanji's mother looked past Yukiko to her son and asked, "Kanji-kun… so, who are these friends of yours?"

"Beats me…," Kanji shrugged. "The bunch of them just showed up in front of our store all of a sudden."

Kanji's mother looked away from Kanji and again questioned Yukiko, "So how can I help you today?"

Yukiko cleared her throat and answered while gesturing to Souji and the others, "My friends and I are part of a club and we have a large table that needs a tablecloth."

_I wonder… does that sound weird that she considers us friends? Well, if Marie said that… then that would be weird._

"Well, you can look over some nice samples here and make a decision from there," Kanji's mother explained.

"Thank you so much…," Yukiko responded.

Souji took two steps away from Yosuke to where Marie was standing and asked, "Is it okay if Yukiko picks out the color and pattern?"

"As long as it isn't lime green or some crap…," Marie said, not really paying attention.

"I highly doubt we'll get a lime green tablecloth," Souji tried not to chuckle.

_It'd be pretty funny, though._

Kanji muttered, "So you came here for some cloth?"

Marie smirked, "We came here… for you."

_That doesn't sound creepy at all._

Kanji reddened as he looked around, taking in Marie, Yukiko, and Rise. He was flustered as he questioned, "What do you mean by that?"

Souji sighed, "It means… that we have a club, and Marie-chan here…" Souji gestured to the first-year. "She wants you to join it."

Kanji looked a mix of surprised and perplexed. He exclaimed, "I have never seen any of you before! Why would you want me to join a club I know nothing about!?"

_You've seen Yukiko before… you just heard your mother speak with her freely._

Souji answered before Marie could say something that would make Kanji mad. He explained, "This club she wants you to join… it's a club of doing random crap to waste time."

Marie looked slightly affronted at Souji's response, "We're not doing random crap, Senpai!"

Rise chuckled, "It's seems like random crap sometimes…"

Kanji said, "Why would I want to join a stupid club that does random crap? Aren't clubs supposed to have a purpose or something?"

Marie stepped closer to Kanji, "Because… our club would do even better with you in it…"

_You need to explain why!_

"No…," Kanji didn't bother giving Marie a chance to explain. "I don't want to join a club."

Marie tried to persuade him, "It's something you want to do. It's a club that does lots of exciting things every day."

Before Kanji could object again, her mother interjected, "Kanji-kun… why don't you consider joining the club?"

Kanji turned to his mother, "Huh?!"

Kanji's mother looked over at the five club members that were crowded in the room and said, "Kanji doesn't really have a lot of friends. He also doesn't do much after school, so I think it would be good for him to join a club."

"Mom!" Kanji objected loudly.

Rise snickered, "Aww… your mom thinks you should join…"

"Shut up…," Kanji looked embarrassed. He took a deep breath. "Okay, okay… all of you… meet me outside when you're done buying this cloth or whatever, and we'll discuss this." Kanji left the textile store to wait for the group to finish.

_Okay…_

After finding out that this cloth of theirs had somehow gotten really fancy all of a sudden, and it would not be ready for a day, Souji headed outside with the other five to speak with Kanji about joining the club. Kanji was waiting for them just outside of the store, closer to Aiya's, the ramen shop. Marie walked close to him, and Souji stepped to her left while Yosuke took a spot to Marie's right. The other two of the Boredom Relief Club were just a step behind.

Marie put her hands on her hips and looked straight at Kanji. She said to the blond first-year, "Alright, so what's there to talk about?"

Kanji took a deep breath, "I know my mother wants me to join this club, whatever it is, but I have a condition before I enter your "Do random crap Club"."

"That's not what it's called," Marie scowled.

Before Marie could make a comment, Souji questioned, "What is your condition, Kanji-kun?"

"How many first-years do you have in your club?" Kanji asked.

Souji responded, "Three…" He gestured to Marie and Rise. "Marie-chan and Rise-chan here… We also have a first-year in our club named Teddie…" Souji looked a little confused. "Why do you ask?"

Kanji reddened slightly, "There is someone I want you to ask to join the club. If you have this person join the club, I'll join…"

_Someone else?_

Marie asked in an impatient voice, "Who is this first-year then?"

Kanji's face reddened some more, "Do… do you know who… who Naoto Shirogane is?"

"Naoto?" Rise looked slightly confused. "Naoto isn't in my class, and Marie is in my class."

"Naoto-kun must be in Teddie's class," Yosuke deduced. He looked at Kanji and said. "What does Naoto-kun look like?"

"Umm…," Kanji looked apprehensive to describe what Naoto looked like. "Umm… Naoto-kun is a girl. She's a detective who lives with her grandfather and misses school a lot. She's really smart, and she kind of mysterious, but she doesn't like to share things with others…" Kanji could not finish his description of Naoto.

Marie held up her hand, "Wait… I think I've seen her before." She continued in an inquisitive tone. "Doesn't Naoto wear a male uniform to school? And a dark blue hat?"

_You wear a hat, too…_

Kanji reddened even more and slowly nodded, "Apparently, it's what she does… the teachers had no idea she was a girl for a month"

Marie smirked, "Must have confused the hell out of the teachers…"

Kanji nodded in agreement, "They ended up not caring because it all worked out in the end."

_So… why does Kanji want her in the club?_

"And why do we want a cross-dressing detective in our club?" Marie voiced Souji's thoughts.

"Without her in the club, I won't join," Kanji explained.

Marie shrugged. She gestured to Souji and said, "Okay… that's works. Souji-senpai will get her to join."

Kanji looked at the silver-haired second-year and said, "Are you sure? I mean… I don't always go to class…"

"Show up at the old English Classroom tomorrow after school. Souji-senpai will take care of getting Naoto-kun to join," Marie said. She suddenly smirked. "If he fails to convince her… you can string him up naked on the fencing on the roof in Yasogami."

_The hell?_

Kanji reddened again and exclaimed, "Why would I want to do that!?"

"Marie!" Rise exclaimed. "Don't threaten Souji-senpai…"

"It's a punishment for Senpai's failure," Marie smiled. "He should be able to do anything as our leader."

_Is that a compliment?_

Kanji shook his head, "If you get her to join, then I'll be there… don't worry about your stupid punishments."

Souji nodded, "I'll do my best… I guess…"

_I have to, or Marie might really try to string me up there._

Yosuke suddenly cut in from the left of Marie, "Hey Souji… Marie-chan… I have to head to work soon."

Bidding farewell to Kanji, Souji sighed at the realization that he would be searching for someone he had never met and attempting to recruit that person to their pointless club. He knew it was going to be a big pain, if only because he did not have the slightest clue on how to convince Naoto to join.

Rise left them as soon as Kanji returned to the textile shop as well, using the excuse that she had to go help her grandmother at the tofu shop. So, the rest of the Boredom Relief Club still around decided to head to Junes for a bit while dropping Yosuke off at work. Marie's mood soured slightly yet again before they left because of Rise.

_She had to thank me again about passing her classes… touchy subject for Marie…_

The four remaining members started walking just a little faster than before at the request of Yosuke. He was now late to work because of Marie's wants of a new tablecloth and new member, so everyone was forced to walk a little faster out of the Northern Shopping District to Junes. The four of them made faster than expected time in their journey to the mega-mart known as Junes.

Souji, Marie, and Yukiko took seats at a metal-mesh table not far away from the newly installed grilling station and the long covered wooden table where they had attempted to study for the exam not that long ago. Souji sat between the two girls, a position that most boys would kill for. Until they realized that even though sitting between the ex-idol Marie and the girl considered the prettiest out of all second-years has one big drawback. The drawback being Marie.

Yosuke had left them with a quick conversation as soon as the three sat down, "I don't know if I'll be around much since I'm doing stock duty in the Electronics Department, but Teddie is working around here."

Yukiko questioned, "Where's Teddie?"

Yosuke pointed behind him at a rotund-looking blob. Souji focused his sight and saw it was actually a red and white mascot suit that was very spherical with short legs. Teddy's mascot suit looked a little like a teddy bear. The spherical mascot was holding balloons in one hand and waving wildly with the other.

_I guess he's in a mascot suit… _

Marie asked Yosuke, "Why is he dressed like a bowling ball teddy bear?"

Yosuke finished tying on his Junes apron while he answered Marie, "He was caught eating all the samples on the grocery floor, so… the store told him he could recoup their losses by doing double-duty as a mascot." He chuckled. "Nobody wants that job, so if Teddie fills it…"

"Well, his name is Teddie and the mascot costume looks like a teddy bear…," Yukiko said. "I guess it fits."

Yosuke nodded and said, "I have to go clock in… so I'll talk to you later."

"See you tomorrow, Yosuke," Souji gave his classmate a partial wave.

Yosuke left the three remaining members behind, leaving them in an awkward silence. For nearly thirty seconds, no one spoke. Finally, Marie said to herself, "I'm thirsty; I'm getting something to drink."

Marie stood up and headed towards the vending machine. Meanwhile, Yukiko put her right hand down to her school briefcase and at the same time, she said to Souji in a nervous voice, "Souji… I tried to make you something again. Do… do you mind trying it?"

_Again? Well…_

Yukiko pulled out a bento covered in a red cloth; she had a look of nervousness and expectation on her face. Souji knew what he had to say, so he nodded, "Alright… I'll try it out."

Yukiko smiled wide and placed the bento in front of him. Souji unwrapped the cloth and lifted the cover to see… another omelet. Souji should have expected that. There were chopsticks inside, so Souji lifted them up and broke them apart.

_Another omelet… let's hope it's better._

The omelet again looked normal and smelled normal, but Souji knew that looks could be deceiving. He split a piece of the omelet off, placed it in his mouth, and set down his chopsticks as he started chewing the bite of omelet.

As he chewed, Souji again noticed… it was dreadfully under-seasoned and slightly overcooked. It was so lacking in seasoning that he could not taste anything at all. It was made worse because there were no additives besides the eggs. Souji was not sure that if he she had added something like peppers or mushrooms that she would not forget to season them as well.

"How was it?" Yukiko waited for an answer.

_How should I answer her this time? It was better than last time…_

Yukiko's face was still one of expectancy, waiting for Souji's answer. Before Souji could answer, however, Marie came back into view and sat back down with a drink in her hand. Upon seeing the bento in front of Souji, Marie looked excited.

"Ooh… did you make that?" Marie asked while grabbing the chopsticks with her other hand.

"Actually…," Yukiko started to tell her. "I…"

Marie dislodged another piece and placed it into her mouth. Unlike Souji, who was able to keep a straight face this time around, Marie made a face of pure disgust. As soon as Marie swallowed her bite of the omelet, she said to Yukiko, "That is the worst omelet I have eaten, Yukiko-senpai. It was like eating untouched uncooked tofu."

Yukiko looked so crestfallen that she did not have the emotion to respond. However, Souji responded for her. He stood up, looked right into her eyes, and exclaimed, "Marie-chan! That's a horrible thing to say. She tried her best…"

Marie looked slightly surprised by Souji's outburst. She looked at Yukiko and said to her, "Okay, okay… Sorry… I can see you didn't make this for me. I'm sure it'll be an awesome omelet next time." Marie stood up and picked up her drink. She focused her attention on the silver-haired second-year and said slowly. "I'm going over to the next table over. When you're done, let's talk."

Marie left the table and sat down at the table next to him and Yukiko; she actually looked a little forlorn. Yukiko turned her head to Souji and said in only a slightly better tone than Souji expected her to have, "She's probably right; it was an awful omelet."

Souji shook his head, "It was better than before." He asked. "Isn't it important to improve your product each time?"

"I tried really hard, but I just got nervous," Yukiko explained. "I always get nervous when I'm cooking…" She reddened slightly. "I get nervous when I'm cooking for…"

_Nervous cooking for…? She starts blushing whenever we talk about this… come on…_

Souji exhaled and questioned, "How about I help you next time? Like… we pick the ingredients together?"

Yukiko's cheeks reddened just a little more. She nodded and replied, "I'd… I'd like that." She turned her head to look at Marie, whose look had changed from surprised disappointment to annoyed expectant. Yukiko took back the bento and cloth, stood up, and said, "Marie-chan is waiting for you. She's just a little brusque, and doesn't really know how to get along with others."

_Yukiko knows Marie… well sort of…_

He restrained himself from agreeing too much with Yukiko, and instead just nodded slightly. Yukiko proceeded to leave him behind so she could head back to the inn, with a smile and a promise to see him in club tomorrow.

_Yeah… she's not the one who expects me to bring Naoto to the club._

Once Yukiko's back was clearly out of the outside dining area, Souji got up and walked to the table over where Marie was currently sitting. Marie stood up to meet him and moved close enough until she was only centimeters away. Souji resisted saying anything detrimental related to Marie's tactless action related to her trying Yukiko's omelet. Instead, he waited for what Marie wanted to say.

Marie raised her right hand slowly until it reached chest high and then said, "I guess I should I give a better apology to Yukiko."

"You can do that tomorrow," Souji nodded. "She'll appreciate it."

Marie nodded, "I'll do so then…" Marie's face slowly shifted to one seen many times before when she wanted something. Her right hand moved closer to Souji's chest and she curled all but her pointer finger into a fist. Just as the finger was about to touch Souji's pectorals, Marie started speaking in the same voice she used when she wanted something, "I know I seemed angry today, but… I don't like failing."

"Nobody does…," Souji agreed.

Marie continued with the same tone, "If I had failed one more subject, then I would be forced to go to Summer School."

"I'm glad you didn't," Souji said. He mainly said that line because he knew he would suffer a punishment, of course, but probably everyone else would, too.

Marie's finger finally made contact with Souji's chest and slowly slid down about an inch. She muttered, "I guess a half-punishment won't count, but if you fail again…"

_Does that include tomorrow's impossible task? And does that include me being strung up on the roof naked?_

Marie lifted her finger away the next second and smiled, "I'll see you at club tomorrow… with Naoto-kun."

_Great… bring that up again._

With that, Marie walked away, drink in hand. Souji had to take a second to gather himself, and then another few to gather his sanity before leaving Junes. He had a good reason to hurry back anyways; he would still get back to the Residential District in time to make dinner for Nanako. It was the most important thing, after all.

_It's cloudy outside… it's going to rain tomorrow._

He was soon inside the Dojima Residence, with his shoes kicked off and watching Nanako sit in front of the TV observing a quiz show. He quickly walked over and joined her at the table nearest to the TV. As he sat together, just across from Nanako, watching the quiz show, he asked, "What do you want me to make for dinner?"

Nanako responded, "Umm… an omelet…"

_Seriously? Enough omelets…_

The next morning, as Souji predicted, it was raining. He had to eat his Nanako-prepared sunny-side-up eggs slightly faster than usual so he could search for his umbrella. His search took up so much time that he did not have time to walk halfway to school with Nanako. Instead, he rushed through the Samegawa Floodplains to the School Zone. The rain splattered the buildings all around Souji as he made his way down the up the School Zone. Before he could make the final push up the hill that reached the iron gates of Yasogami, he was interrupted by a girl who shoved her way under his umbrella. To his surprise, the person who had pushed way inside his umbrella was not Marie, but instead was the first-year with dark red pigtails.

"Thanks Senpai…," Rise squeezed in closer so she would not get wet.

"Did you forget your umbrella?" Souji asked. His left shoulder was now unprotected and was getting soaked.

Rise nodded, "I woke up late and had to hurry…" She winked. "Luckily, I found you before I got too wet." She linked her arm around the gap in Souji's elbow.

_Of course you did…_

"Glad to help…," Souji responded. Souji did not really mind helping her out for something as trivial as this.

As the two were walking and passing other students, Souji heard people whispering and gossiping.

"Dude… do you see that? He's got Rise-chan around his arm today?"

"Today?"

"Yeah… I mean, Marie-chan is always around him, and he's all buddy-buddy with Chie..."

"Damn… what's next? He eats lunch with Yukiko-san?"

"Yep…"

"That jerk…"

Souji did his best to ignore them. He instead focused his attention on the girl pushing him hallway into the rain. Rise said idly, "Hope you get Naoto-kun to join the club…"

"Yeah…," Souji nodded. "Kanji-kun really wanted us to get her to join the club, apparently."

"I bet he likes her…," Rise chuckled. "Now, that'd be fun to have the two of them in the same club…"

_For you it would…_

Rise's chuckle dissipated and softened, "Senpai… do you best…" Her face changed again and waved him off with a smile, running ahead for the last few meters with her bag as a makeshift umbrella.

_Bipolar Rise, well… I could give that title to Marie, too._

Those well wishes again made Souji realize that he had to convince a person he knew very little about to join the most asinine club in all of Yasogami High. He had a sinking feel that this person was a no-nonsense kind of person, too. It was going to be one hell of a pain in the nether regions.

_I'll figure it out… somehow…_

Souji did not plan on trying to convince Naoto, or whoever she was before class. He was going to try and think of a plan during the morning classes so he could confront her during lunchtime, but he fell asleep during King Moron's philosophical lecture. His drowsiness continued all the way to lunchtime, which was when he originally planned to find and talk to Naoto. However, he was bombarded and distracted by the class representatives of 2-2. The two reps kept asking about the events of a few days ago, which was the night of the laser tag duel. They were worried on why there were random scuff marks all over the school; the marks caused by Marie jumping around the walls. By the time Souji was able to placate them with lies and excuses, lunch was over. He would now have to coerce Naoto on an empty stomach after school before club.

When the final bells of the day did ring, Souji took a deep breath and stood up with his bag in hand. He received a single comforting glance from Yukiko, and a slightly confused look from Chie before the girls headed to the old English Classroom. He headed out the door and turned away, giving a glance to Yosuke as well; the fluffy-haired second-year was headed straight to the Practice Building while he was headed to the first floor.

Souji stepped into the first-year classroom opposite of Rise and Marie's. He started looking for someone wearing a girl wearing male clothes, but he soon realized that Kanji's description was pitiful. As he gazed around the room, he could not even see Teddie in class either. All he could do was turn around, leave the room, and move back towards the stairs.

_I do have to find her. Didn't Kanji say she's not always at school? That's kind of a flawed concept on having an ultimatum of having one day to bring her into this club. What if she's not even at school?_

He heard noise by the shoeboxes, so he left the doorway of the first-year classroom to check out what the disturbance was. Souji thought there were about three people milling around by the shoeboxes, he thought there might be one much shorter person obscured by two taller guys. The only thing Souji could make out on the shortest person was a dark blue hat. It was a darker shade of blue than Marie's hat. If he could remember of what Kanji said…

_Now… how to get her attention…_

He inched closer to the three and it seemed that the two boys were bugging her about something. He could barely make out part of a conversation, "Hey… I have a mystery for you to solve."

A voice sounding extremely strange to Souji, only if for the fact that it sounded slightly feminine, yet slightly masculine, replied, "I doubt you have a valid mystery to pique my interest."

"We have a worthy mystery," the second boy explained. "It's the mystery of our hearts."

_She's more popular than I thought._

"I'm just not interested in simple-minded people," the girl who had to be Naoto replied.

Souji knew that there was going to be backlash from a comment like that. He decided to intervene, even if he had to do so ungracefully. He took a deep breath and called out, "Hey! Pint-size! You forgot something back in the classroom!"

Naoto pushed herself way past the two boys before they had a chance to complain about being shot down or being bumped into. Souji finally got a good look at the first-year detective as she stopped about a meter away from him. Naoto barely came up to his shoulder, and was indeed wearing a male uniform. Her very short dark blue hair was covered by the navy hat. She frowned upon facing Souji. "Don't give me asinine nicknames…" Naoto looked at him up and down. "Scratch that… I don't think I have ever seen you before. You must be older than me. Who are you?"

_You can take a breath…_

Souji took a short breath and said, "Sorry about the nickname thing… I needed a way to get your attention."

"You couldn't think of a better way?" Naoto raised an eyebrow.

"Considering the situation?" Souji raised his own eyebrow. "You wanted me to greet you while you deal with two angry third-years?"

Naoto rolled her eyes, "You still haven't introduced yourself, or why you're here. If you're here for the same reason as the other two, you know the answer."

"Right… My name is Souji Seta," he nodded. "I'm here on behalf of a few other first-years."

"Not interested…," Naoto responded before Souji could continue.

"I'll reiterate…," Souji said. "I'm here as the President of the Boredom Relief Club at the request of a few of our younger members."

Naoto looked at him inquisitively, "Never heard of your club... what does your club have to do me?"

"Well… a prospective member of ours, and a high-ranking member of ours… they believe you would make an excellent member of our club," Souji explained.

Naoto put her hands on her hips and asked, "Why do they say that? Also, what does this club do?"

_I hate when they ask that question… Oh… and why did Kanji want Naoto in the club besides the fact he has a crush?_

"Our club… it gives members a way to spend their time after school in a beneficial matter, doing things that would keep them out of trouble," Souji said, trying to forget trespassing into the school a few days ago. He thought for a second about what to say about why Naoto was necessary for the club. He took as deep a breath as possible and said, "You are being recruited for your… creativity and deviation from the typical student in our club."

_I'm so bad at lying…_

If Naoto could have raised her eyebrow any higher, it would reach her hairline. She said, "Deviation from the normal students? What kind of students do you have in this club?"

_Do you really want to know?_

"No detectives…," Souji shrugged. "No first-years with the top grades in their class…"

_Those were crap examples…_

"I'm supposed to attend this class every day?" Naoto questioned.

"Come when you can," Souji repeated as he did so often. "I missed club a day or so ago out of exhaustion."

Naoto closed her eyes and said slowly, "Exhaustion… makes me wonder what exactly your club is doing." She opened her eyes. "I'm a detective living with my grampa. If I get requests, I can't attend school, much less club."

Souji nodded, "I understand. It's why I explained that if something else is more important, then you should do that over that."

"I guess… I can see what your club does, but…," Naoto started to tell Souji.

"You can leave if you are dissatisfied," Souji finished.

_I shouldn't push my luck._

"Where is your club located?" Naoto's face was still oddly serious as she asked him of his club's location.

"The old English Classroom," Souji answered. "You can follow me there if you'd like."

Naoto nodded again and Souji tightened his grip on his school briefcase before heading towards the Practice Building. He hoped Naoto was following behind him as he walked down the wooden floors to the old English Classroom to what was now the Boredom Relief Club. He heard noise inside the club room and took a deep breath before sliding open the door.

"You suck at Old Maid, Kanji-kun…," the definitive voice of Marie cut through the club room.

The girl with a sleeveless blouse, Marie was sitting next to the girl who had red pigtails, Rise. Across the long wooden table was the first-year with multiple piercings and short cut shock blond hair, Kanji. Sitting next to him was the blond-haired young man who was wearing a mascot costume yesterday, Teddie. They were apparently playing Old Maid.

At Marie's statement, Kanji replied angrily, "Shut up, Marie-chan…."

"Come on, Marie... not everyone can be good at card games…," Rise tried to be apologetic.

Souji looked around the room and saw Yukiko and Chie were leaning back against the near wall, reading. Yosuke was sitting in the far corner, reading, but with a slap mark on his face.

From behind, Souji heard Naoto's voice, "Is it like this usually? A guy with a slap mark on his face? Card games with others?"

"Slap marks? Rarely…," Souji replied. "Card games? Usually our activities are livelier…"

"That's interesting…," Naoto said.

_Well… here goes nothing… again._

"Hey… Kanji-kun," Souji interrupted a shouting match that had interrupted during the Old Maid game.

"Huh?" Kanji looked up, surprised for a second. When Kanji's gaze met Naoto, he reddened deeply and then lowered his head. "Oh… hello, Naoto-kun."

Naoto whispered, "What was that about?"

Souji had to stop himself from snickering, "Nothing too important… just… Welcome to the Boredom Relief Club."

* * *

Next Chapter: Chapter 7- I'm 1st Player!

I was undecided on how to introduce the two of them. Kanji will end up being a little more "Kanji-like" later on. Our "Spring Semester" will end very soon, so get ready for summer.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7- I'm First Player!**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. For those who are not typical students of Yasogami, I made up their ages and if you don't like the ages I decided… well you know my rule about it. I expect ethical respect from my readers, but if you don't want to be a respectful reader; I want you to hit the back button.

P.S.: All sorts of OOC stuff. Persona rules on suffixes #5 Boredom Relief Members are not required to attend every meeting.

P.S.S.: You are free to give suggestions on pairings or whatever…

P.S.S.: Souji is meant to be indecisive (there is a reason, and if you can't figure out why…)

_Souji's thoughts_

* * *

_**That Evening: Junes**_

Miraculously, Naoto did not leave the Boredom Relief Club after watching an argument break out over a game of Old Maid and seeing the after effects of Yosuke being Yosuke in front of either Chie or Yukiko. All in all, Souji saved himself from Marie's wrath somehow. He still believed that if she ever asked him to bring in another hapless soul, though… he would fail miserably.

The evening after his recruitment of Naoto, Souji had returned home and promptly found that he had inadequate materials to make a proper dinner. He was forced to make a dinner below his acceptable quality for Nanako, and eventually Dojima when he came home from work. Souji promised himself not to have the same inadequacies tomorrow, so after requesting his uncle to allow him to leave the household in the late evening; he found himself at Junes. What he did not expect, was his cousin to have begged her way to his side. He did not mind having Nanako at Junes, considering it is her favorite store. However, he was not sure how Nanako convinced her father to let her to go to Junes with him. All that mattered was that he was now at Junes with his cousin.

Right at this moment, Souji was sitting in the Grocery Department with his younger cousin, staring straight at the dairy products in the back. He was not quite uncomfortable, as he looked for unsalted butter, but it was not exactly warm as he stood near the milk and yogurt.

At his side was his younger cousin, a brunette with short little pigtails off to the side. She had to be a little more uncomfortable than him, wearing a light pink tank top. She had been very good so far, not leaving his side. She was also gripping the cart that held a few of the other products they had already picked up.

Souji, still looking at the back section, said to Nanako, "Keep an eye out for the butter, okay? We're looking for the unsalted kind…"

"Okay, Big bro…," Nanako replied cheerfully.

Souji's eyes slid across the back section as he stepped towards the butter; he could feel Nanako following him. There were few late night shoppers, but Souji ignored them as he brushed past the salted butter products. When he finally reached the unsalted butter items, he looked for the right mix of price and quality.

_Here we go…_

Souji reached for the butter, and instead of grabbing hold of it; Souji made contact with a red and black gloved hand with the fingers showing. He pulled back his fingers more out of instinct than anything else. He turned his head and saw the girl with the white sleeveless blouse, light blue hat, and tight skirt staring straight at him. She was holding a hand cart as well, with only a few items inside.

"Senpai…," Marie said simply.

"Marie-chan…," Souji said back.

_Of course Marie has to be here…_

The two stood there in silence for about five seconds, lost for words, until Souji's cousin came up from behind, "Big bro? Did you find the butter?" When she saw Souji staring at Marie, she asked, "Big bro? Who's this?"

Marie's face turned from a blank stare to a devilish smirk as she gazed from Souji to Nanako. She responded to Nanako in an oddly normal tone, considering her smirk, "Hello… my name is Marie. What's yours?"

"My name is Nanako…," Nanako responded. She looked at Marie inquisitively, like she knew she her from somewhere.

"It's nice to meet you, Nanako-chan…," Marie said. As she as her eyes met Souji's, she started grinning.

_What the hell?_

"Nice to meet you too, Marie-chan…," Nanako said; she was still trying to figure out where she had seen her before.

Souji decided to satiate Nanako's confusion, "Nanako… you might know her with long hair, and the name Mariko…"

"Mari-chan!?" Nanako exclaimed, a surprised look on her face. She had invented a new nickname for Marie on the fly.

"Mari-chan?" Marie whispered in slight confusion.

Souji shrugged and then answered Nanako, "Yeah… she's in my club, remember?"

Nanako nodded, "I remember now… you said Mari-chan was in your club."

Marie's grin was still evident to Souji before she looked back at Nanako and asked, "Nanako-chan… what can you tell me about your cousin? I want to know him better…"

_You are evil…_

"Big bro?" Nanako said. "He's really nice to me and my dad. He makes dinner for me every day he can. He also spends time with me even though he seems really busy with school."

"He is a nice guy, isn't he?" Marie winked.

Nanako nodded, "Yep…"

Souji knew that there was something going on, and he needed to get his cousin out of the way at least for a moment. If he didn't, Marie would corrupt her. He looked down at Nanako and changed the subject, "Nanako, we still need to pickle relish, right?"

Nanako replied, "Yeah… we need to get Dad's pickle relish…"

"It's in the aisle just down there," Souji pointed to his left. He asked his cousin. "Do you think you can get it by yourself, or do you want me to go with you?"

Nanako seemed to have trouble deciding on whether she wanted to have Souji accompany her or not. Before Nanako could decide, Marie made the decision for her, "If you don't want to go alone, Rise can go with you."

_Rise?_

Marie turned to the aisle just beyond the one where he said the pickle relish would reside and called out, "Rise! I have something for you to do besides find over-priced groceries."

Souji raised his eyebrows as Rise Kujikawa came out of the aisle Marie called out to. The red-haired girl walked straight towards Marie. She had an annoyed face as she said, "Marie… what is it?"

When she came close to Marie, she looked in Souji's direction and smiled at his presence. Her smile widened, however, at seeing Nanako at the silver-haired young man's side.

_Why is Rise here?_

"Who is this, Souji-senpai?" Rise questioned, an extremely curious look on her face.

"This is my cousin, Nanako…," Souji responded.

"She's adorable…," Rise gushed.

Nanako blushed slightly before she said, "Thank you…" She quickly composed herself and asked Rise with more excitement. "You're Rise-chan, right?"

Rise nodded, "Yep…" She paid no mind to Nanako's excitement, most likely due to her adoration of Nanako's appearance.

Marie shook her head and said something before Nanako could say something, "Rise… Souji-senpai needs something."

"Hmm?" Rise turned her head from Nanako to Marie, and then to Souji. "What do you need, Senpai?"

_Only Marie could make it sound weird…_

"Could you go with Nanako down the aisle to get the pickle relish and anything else we need?" Souji turned his head slightly as he requested.

Rise responded quickly, "Of course…" She looked to Nanako, "Whenever you're ready…"

"Yeah!" Nanako exclaimed.

Souji held out his hand, "One second, Nanako…" He again attempted to grab the unsalted butter that was thwarted the first time by Marie's hand. Upon obtaining the butter with a firm grasp on his right hand, Souji dropped it into the small cart Nanako was holding. "Okay, I'll see you shortly…"

"See you soon, Big bro…," Nanako said as he walked off with Rise.

As soon as the red-haired ex-idol and Souji's cousin were out of earshot, Marie again focused her attention on Souji and promptly smirked. Souji rolled his eyes as he said, "Okay… what is it?"

"I can see why you have a cousin complex, Senpai…," Marie continued to smirk.

Souji replied, "You're still going on about that?"

Marie ignored Souji's statement, "I can tell she adores you."

"So…?" Souji said.

"It's cute that you're robbing the cradle," Marie smirked.

"I think it's wise for you to stop talking," Souji responded.

Marie rolled her eyes and then apologized, "Okay, okay… I'm sorry."

Souji was not sure he really believed her. She really liked to mess with people, after all. He took a deep breath and then changed the subject, "So, what brings you here to Junes so late at night?"

"I need to get some stuff for a late night snack, and we have no food at home beyond the essentials…," Marie shrugged. "Isn't that obvious?"

Souji rolled his eyes again, "How is that obvious?" He questioned. "Okay, so if you're here for food, why is Rise-chan here?"

"It would be boring if I went alone," Marie explained. "So, I asked Rise to come with me…"

_Yes… I bet you were subtle about asking her. More like you dragged her here._

Souji exhaled the small amount of air he had in his lungs and said, "Of course that's how it went."

Marie started frowning, "I bring her along for company, but she starts finding all this expensive crap for herself. I'm certainly not paying for it."

_I saw that…_

"Well, you did bring her along…," Souji tried to reason with her.

"So…?" Marie raised her hands in frustration. "I didn't bring her along for herself!"

_So childish…_

"Excuse me…," an old lady suddenly cut her way between the two high school students. She reached for the same brand of butter that had taken Souji two tries to obtain.

"Oh… sorry," Souji moved slightly away from Marie and the butter products to let the older woman with thinning hair. The old lady smiled at Souji and took the butter from the shelf in the refrigerated section.

After retrieving the product, the lady stepped back and looked to both high school students. She said with a grin, "Don't stay out too late. I'm sure a couple like you will have plenty of time to see each other after school."

_A couple?_

Marie's frown turned into something of a surprised reddened look as she exclaimed, "We are not a couple!"

Souji almost had to chuckle at how vehemently she denied that accusation. He had only shook his head at the absurdity when the older lady had suggested it. He would never have thought of asking Marie out. He was actually waiting for a Junes employee to come over and scold Marie for being so loud in denying their relationship. No scolding ever came, though, as the old lady instead wished her luck in snagging him. It caused even more problems.

Marie was no longer smirking after the old lady left the dairy section. She bit her lip and muttered, "Stupididiotjerks… assuming things for no reason…" She pointed her finger at Souji. "It's all your fault."

_Huh?_

"Why is it my fault?" Souji threw his hands out at a fifty-degree angle in front of him.

"Because… it's the way you act," Marie said in a way like it was obvious. "Don't think I didn't notice that you were all buddy-buddy with Rise, walking with her in the rain."

_That's why?_

"She was only there with me because she forgot her umbrella," Souji explained. "But… whatever."

Marie did not look satisfied at all by Souji's answer. She frowned and blushed slightly as she said, "That lady would not have said anything if you would not have been standing so close to me."

"Sorry…," Souji shrugged.

"Whatever…," Marie shook her head, trying to change the subject. She wanted to leave any notions or mentions of relationships far away. She took a breath and said. "The break is about to start, which means it could be our last club meeting in the club room until we get back."

"That's true," Souji agreed with her.

"Do you know what that means?" Marie asked. She continued, "It means… that you have to come up with something fun to do, or… you're in real trouble!"

_An empty threat again?_

"And if I don't…," Souji started to question.

Marie cut him off, "You don't want to find out." Her smile had returned at this point as she inched slightly closer towards Souji and pointed a single finger at him. "I have something in store if you don't figure something out, Mari-chan..."

_Maybe I should fail someday just to see what she really does try to do…_

"I'll kill you if you ever say that name in public," Marie fumed.

"I know, I know…," Souji chuckled.

Souji was not really going to try that tomorrow, though. He had to think of something exciting to do. He could slack off during the summer. There was actual something else he should do, especially if the club meetings at school were about to end.

"Marie-chan…," Souji pulled out his phone. He went back to his normal way of speaking with her after teasing her momentarily.

"Yeah? What is it?" Marie looked at him inquisitively, still looking somewhat annoyed.

"I need your phone number," Souji told her.

Marie's face turned as red as when the older lady told the pair they were in a relationship. She responded to Souji's statement, "Why!?"

"If you start directing the club meetings once school gets out, or you make me do it… we need each other's phone numbers, silly…," Souji tried it to make sound as obvious as possible.

"Well, yeah… that's obvious…," Marie tried to brush it off, her blushed face receding. "I… I just thought you were trying to be perverted and ask for my number so you can call me late at night to tell me dirty jokes."

_Why would I do that?_

"I am not Yosuke, Marie-chan…," Souji reassured her.

"Of course not," Marie agreed.

The two quickly exchanged phones to exchange numbers. Marie looked somewhat unsatisfied as the two finished entering in the numbers. As the two started handing the phones back, Marie suddenly stepped back as a female voice rang through, "Ooh… exchanging phone numbers… do I smell romance?"

"Shut up, Rise!" Marie called out instinctively. "This is for the club. He'll need your number, too…"

"Ooh… Senpai is a playboy…," Rise smirked as she walked up next to Marie while pulling her cell out. Souji just rolled his eyes as he took Rise's phone and Souji's phone was handed over to Rise by Marie. Souji simultaneously handed Marie's phone back over to her. After a few more punches of numbers, all phones were handed back to the original owners.

While all the phone numbers were being entered, Nanako had returned to Souji's side. She looked quite content from being with Rise. Still, Souji asked, "Did you find everything you needed?"

Nanako nodded, "Yep… Rise-chan helped me…"

Souji looked back to Rise and nodded slightly, "Thank you for watching over her…"

"Anytime…," Rise smiled.

Souji looked to both of them, to Nanako, and then back to the club members, "Well, we should get going. It's just about Nanako's bed time at that." He nodded slightly before he said. "I'll see you two at club."

"See you later, Senpai!" Rise waved at Souji. She then proceeded to wave to Nanako. "Bye, Nanako-chan. I'll shop with you whenever you want."

"Goodbye, Rise-chan!" Nanako waved back.

Marie nodded back to Souji and Nanako. She said to Souji, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Souji finally made his way through the grocery department after finishing his goodbyes to Marie and Rise. When he reached the cash register, he had a small urge to charge the groceries to Yosuke's account, but he thought better of it. It was mainly because he had no reason to do something so evil. After paying for the groceries, he left the mega-mart and headed back towards the Residential District with his cousin at his side.

Souji was holding the groceries-filled Junes bag in his right hand as he started walking home with his cousin. After about a minute of lonely walking, Nanako looked up to her cousin and asked, "Big bro, what's a "playboy"?"

_She would ask…_

Souji was not really sure how to answer her. As they walked into the entrance of the Residential District, he answered, "It means a person who is friends with lots of girls."

Nanako said, "Does that mean I'm a "playboy", Big bro?"

Souji quickly answered in response, "No, Nanako. Girls can't be "playboys"."

The rest of their walk back was not quite as lively, but had conversation at the very least. He made it home to his residence just in time for Nanako to head upstairs to go to bed. He had taken too long in finding what he needed and in talking to Marie and Rise.

Souji headed upstairs as soon as he put away the butter, the pickle relish, and the other goods that had been purchased, too. After washing his face, he went to the dresser and changed into sweats and a comfier shirt. Souji then went over to his desk where he very occasionally studied and grabbed a book to read. He went to his couch and read about a teacher who was even meeker than half of the teachers at his own school. Throughout his reading, he was trying to think of something for his club to do.

_Something to do… it definitely can't be as flashy as a laser tag fight…_

Maybe it was his indecision on what to do the next day, or his usual nonchalant attitude. The result was the same; Souji did not sleep well. He was just a little tired when he woke up to Nanako's beckoning for him to come get his toast and eggs. His lack of sleep just that much harder for him to wash his face, get dressed, and help clean the dishes after he finished eating with his cousin.

_I never seem to sleep very well…_ _I'll just sleep in class…_

Souji's tiredness stayed with him all the way until the morning bell rang and Morooka entered the room. Souji was planning on taking a nap, but the buck-toothed loudmouth walked straight to the teacher's desk before he could rest his head on the desk with his arms as a buffer.

"Now listen up!" Morooka exclaimed. "I know your break starts tomorrow, but I want you to pay attention…"

Souji heard whispering coming from some other guys around the classroom as King Moron started his ranting, "What's he going on now? I just want to go out to the beach with some hot girls…"

"I know I bet you boys have lots of plans on this holiday, and your plans involves hanging out with girls in places like pools, beaches, and watering holes. I don't want you ruining the purity of these girls with your perverse plans!" Morooka started an endless rush of ranting on what not to do during their summer.

_This is boring. If my classmates want to do it with chicks, then they're going to do it regardless of what you say. I'm taking a nap._

After listening to a rant and a few other useless lectures from teachers that he would not see for weeks, Souji was ready for a break. Instead of eating on the roof, he decided to just eat his lunch in Class 2-2. It appeared that the other members of the Boredom Relief Club that were also a part of 2-2 had also decided to eat lunch in 2-2.

Souji had thrown together a lunch at the last moment before he went to bed last night, and he unwrapped the red cloth to eat his lunch with some trepidation. He had forgotten what he had packed. Luckily, his lunch was edible. However, he was interrupted by a brunette with her hair cut in a bowl cut before he could start eating.

"Hey, Souji…," the brunette called out to him from the seat next to him. Her own bento was open, cut steak between her chopsticks.

Souji focused his attention at Chie, ignoring the bustle from the other students eating around him, and said, "Hey…"

"Almost time for break," Chie told him. "What are you planning on doing during it?"

Souji pursed his lips and then bit his lower lip. The only thing he knew about his plans for his break was that he had no idea. He took one second and then said, "When it comes to my plans, I'm not quite sure. I mean, if it has to do with the club… it'll be on a day-by-day basis."

Chie had taken a bite of her food and after she had swallowed her piece of cut steak, she shook her head. She responded in a slow voice, "I'm not talking about club. I know that Marie-chan will decide half of our activities anyways."

"That's probably true…," Souji nodded in agreement. "At least, she'll make some not so subtle suggestions."

_Though, if it's not about club…_

"Chie… if this isn't about club activities, why are you asking me about what I'm doing during the break?" Souji questioned.

Chie dropped her chopsticks and fidgeting a little. She took a second before she answered, "I was wondering if you could make time to train with me some more…"

_Train with her? I thought we resolved that on the rooftop…_

Souji again did not know to respond to Chie, of course. Training with her, whatever that would entail, could not be worse than anything Marie could think up.

He shrugged, "Sure, I guess…"

"Thanks…," Chie nodded. "It's not as enjoyable training by yourself."

_She makes it sound like we've worked together a lot more than we have. We stretched together like once…_

"That's true…," Souji said. "I guess everything is better with other people."

_Except…_

With Chie placated, Souji finally thought he could get back to eating. He put his a piece of his hastily thrown together lunch between his chopsticks and moved it towards his mouth. Before it reached his mouth, he was approached by another member of the Boredom Relief Club that was also a classmate of his. He normally sat one seat behind Souji, but he now stood to the left side of him.

_I can't just eat lunch…_

"Yosuke…," Souji interrupted "What is it?" His tone was slightly less friendly than when he was speaking with Chie. The only real reason why he was slightly cold towards the fluffy-haired second-year was because he was hungry and he was being interrupted again.

Yosuke crossed his arms and bent down to whisper to him. He said, "Hey… I have a great idea for our break."

_Why are you whispering it?_

"Okay... what is your idea?" Souji responded in a little louder voice.

"I think at some point, we should go to the beach…," Yosuke said. "Warm water, nice food, girls in skimpy swimsuits…"

_That doesn't explain why you're whispering._

"Okay… I'm sure it's a plausible idea that will be accepted by the others," Souji told him. He lowered his voice only because Yosuke would not stop lowering his. "But… why are you being so hush-hush about it?"

"Because if anyone heard about possible beach plans, and they knew that it could include Rise-chan and Marie-chan in swimsuits," Yosuke explained. "It would cause… problems."

_I guess Yosuke has a point._

Souji shrugged and picked up his chopsticks again, "Well, you never know if Yukiko or Chie will agree. Besides, there's a cross-dressing girl in our club now."

Yosuke frowned. He finally said, "We won't know unless we try…"

"I guess you're right about that," Souji agreed.

Souji believed that Yosuke was probably right on a few things. Going to the beach was probably a good idea, and it was not like there was a shortage of people who could go with them. The Boredom Relief Club would be perfect for an activity like this; the beach would probably be anything but boring, especially with Marie there.

There was the one other reason that probably drove Yosuke to push this idea. Souji would not deny this reason was not a bad one. The reason that the girls of the Boredom Relief Club would be in swimsuits was probably Yosuke's main reason for wanting to go to the beach. Souji could definitely support this reasoning, any breathing male probably would. There was still a problem or two, though.

Souji exhaled the little air in his lungs and said, "Yosuke, no one is going to want to take the bus all the way out to the beach."

Yosuke smiled, or Souji thought he smiled as he answered the silver-haired boy's complaint, "I have a plan to solve that, too. I'll bring it up with you later."

_What would that be? Are we running to the beach?_

Lunchtime would be ending soon, so Souji tried to hurry and finish the conversation, "Yosuke, if you really want this to go through… you'll have to bring it up with Marie-chan, Rise-chan, and whoever else you have to convince."

Yosuke's face dropped slightly, but he steeled himself. After a deep breath, he answered, "You're right. It's my responsibility if I want to see Risette or Yukiko-san in a swimsuit."

_Yukiko-san? Now you know that he's serious._

"I wish you luck…," Souji said. He put on a small smile as he spoke. He was half-sincere only because it could be fun if they actually went to the beach.

_It could end being hell, too…_

Souji only got through half of his lunch before he had re-wrap the red cloth around his bento and endure a few more pointless lectures from teachers wishing them safety and fun during break. Kashiwagi's well-wishes were the creepiest. It interrupted his psyche and prevented him from being in the right state of mind to lay his head down and sleep through what was going to be a joke of a World History lecture by Sofue.

When classes were finally finished for the day, Souji grabbed his briefcase from the side of the desk and headed out of 2-2 and down the hall towards the Practice Building. He went straight to what was the Old English Classroom and slid open the door to attend the club where he supposed to organize the activity.

At the speed that Souji walked to the Boredom Relief Club, he expected to be the first one in the club room. When Souji walked into the club room, a person with very short navy hair with a navy hat and a male uniform was sitting in the chair closest to the club room doors on the left side. The club member might be wearing a male uniform, but the club member sitting at the lone wooden table was a girl.

_Why is Naoto just sitting there? Isn't she bored?_

Souji took a deep breath as he walked towards the wooden table, placed his briefcase on the side of it, and sat down across from the only other member of the club currently in the room. He looked at Naoto to see that she was currently reading a book.

He swallowed to clear his throat and said to the detective, "Naoto-kun… what are you reading?"

Naoto set the book down and looked at the silver-haired young man. She answered him, "I'm just skimming something my grampa gave me."

"Is it any good?" Souji asked.

Naoto gave a half-hearted shrug, "I'm not really sure yet. I will have to take a look a more thorough look at it later." She suddenly changed the subject, "Now that another member of the club, the President, is here, I guess we can start the activities of the day."

_I was actually expecting Marie to be here, not the cross-dresser…_

"I guess we can…," Souji said. As soon as he had sat down across from Naoto, he stood up again and while pulling the chair; he made his way to the large TV that Marie had persuaded Yosuke into putting on his ever-enlarging tab. Beneath the TV was a game system that had also been put on Yosuke's tab. The second-year hit the power button on the TV and changed the setting to a HDMI channel. He bent down and pressed the power button on the game system before grabbing a controller and sitting down on the chair he had pulled over from the long wooden table.

He then took the game he had planned to use since he had woken up this morning, and put it inside the system. As the game started to load, Souji turned his head in the direction of Naoto and said, "Naoto-kun… why don't you join me for a game?"

"A game?" Naoto looked confused. Her confused look stayed evident as she continued. "I've never played…"

Souji shrugged as he rested his back against the chair. He responded, "That doesn't matter."

Naoto backed up her chair and stood up slowly. She asked, "Do you mind teaching me how to play?"

Souji nodded and gave a very small smile, "Of course."

Naoto dragged her chair next to Souji's own chair. She sat down and Souji handed her the second controller. He went through the Title screen, and then into the Versus screen for two players. As the game moved onto the Character Select screen, Souji started his explanation for how to play the game.

He looked at Naoto and said, "Okay… the objective of this game is to pick a character and knock the other one off the screen using various attacks. You press A for regular attacks, and B with separate directional buttons for strong attacks. Different characters have different attacks that do different things. If you press the directional button quickly to the right or the left, you will roll. You can collect items and either use them against your opponent, or heal."

As Souji kept going about the game, Naoto interrupted him. She put up her left hand and told him, "Maybe I would learn better if we just play. We can go by trial-and-error."

_Sounds like a plan…_

Souji moved his cursor and picked what he thought was a suitable character for this fight. He did not pick the character he was best at. His choice was made mainly because he was playing against someone who had never played the game before.

Naoto said to Souji, "Who should I play as, Senpai?"

_I shouldn't suggest she play as she cross-dresser, should I?_

Souji thought for a second before he answered, "I think you should play as the girl in red armor. She's faster than she looks and can fire large energy blasts if she has the time to charge her gun."

"Okay…," Naoto said. "I'll try her out."

Naoto moved her cursor over to the character Souji suggested while the silver-haired young man finalized his choice. Finally, the battle, not between the first-year cross-dresser with the blue hat and the second-year with silver hair, but a battle between a woman in red armor with a big gun and a guy in green with a sword and shield started.

"Go easy on me…," Naoto said.

"I'm not very good myself…," Souji admitted.

The two began their five minute match, which mainly consisted of Naoto getting used to her character. It meant a lot of wild half-charged shots in the general direction of Souji's character, who jumped out of the way, most of the time. Souji only attacked her character a few times, slashing the red-armored woman with a whirling blade and arrows. The fight was kind of awkward, but it was oddly fun for Souji. Souji looked at Naoto while he tried to dodge another blast, and saw that she was smiling. Her smile might have formed because of the fact she had finally hit him with a charged blast and sent him flying off the screen. Souji got careless in this fight.

While Souji's character started to regenerate, Naoto smiled and gave what Souji thought was the smallest of clenched fists in triumph. When Naoto saw that Souji was looking, she quickly unclenched her fist and embarrassment shone on her face.

_Cute…_

The fight continued for another minute with Souji returning the favor with his character sending Naoto's off the screen. Before the match hit its fourth minute, the door slid open again. Souji did not look back to see who had entered the club room. He did not have to, however. From behind the TV, Souji heard a very familiar voice call out, "Senpai! What are you playing?"

_Now she's here…_

"Marie-chan…," Souji pressed a button to smash Naoto's character into a wall and slide all the way to the bottom of the level. "We're playing a game…"

"Ooh…," Marie sounded excited. "I want to play."

Souji rolled his eyes as Naoto's character retaliated by firing a missile at Souji's character. Souji's character dodged the missile with a well-timed jump. He responded to Marie, "I'm playing with Naoto-kun right now… wait your turn."

Somehow, Souji knew that Marie had a mixture of annoyance and pouting on her face. He was not sure, but out of his peripheral vision; Souji thought that Naoto might have smiled slightly at his comment.

Souji continued with a comment directed at Naoto, "Let's finish our match…" He threw a bomb at Naoto's character, knocking her character off the edge.

Souji finished the match with a close win, even if he spent more time being interrupted and trying to make sure Naoto got the hang of the game than eviscerating her. As the results shone across the TV, Souji heard a chair being dragged from behind him and Marie call out, "Finally…"

As the chair was dragged from across the room, the door slid open yet again. The other six members of the Boredom Relief Club entered the club room, led by Yosuke and Kanji. Yosuke placed his briefcase against the front wall, next to the door and smiled, "Sweet! Video games…"

Souji instinctively put down the controller as the game went back to the Title screen. He turned his head around to the right until his shoulder swiveled with him so he could meet Yosuke's gaze. He nodded and said, "Yep… video games."

"Awesome…," Yosuke said. He raised his hand as the others shuffled in around him "I got next…"

Immediately, the girl with long black and white-striped socks interjected, "I have been waiting to beat Souji-senpai, Yosuke-senpai. You will have to wait your turn."

"There are four controllers…," Yosuke muttered.

Yukiko, Rise, and Chie had placed their own bags on the table. Rise directed a question towards Souji as Marie continued to pull her chair even with Souji and Naoto, "I'm guessing we're playing video games today, right Senpai?"

Souji nodded as Marie sat down next to Naoto. The girl with long fingerless gloves was still pouting slightly. Before Marie could pick up another controller, Naoto faced the rest of the group and said, "If we are to play games, why don't we all play in turns with an equal amount of people each time" She continued, "That would be… three each time."

As soon as Naoto's comment left her mouth, Marie stood up and walked away from the two sitting by the TV. She looked even more annoyed than before. The blond-haired Teddie who was standing near Yosuke asked, "So, who's playing who?" He smiled, "I want to play Rise-chan!"

Yosuke responded to Teddie's question not through words, but instead by walking back to his school briefcase which was only a step away from the club door and pulling out one of his notebooks and a pen. He ripped out a piece of paper and ripped off nine shreds that were close to equal size. He then started writing a single word on each shred.

_Oh… I know what he's doing…_

After writing the names down on the shreds of paper, Yosuke threw them in an empty side pocket of his briefcase. He picked up his school bag and walked over to Souji where he said, "If you would do the honors of drawing three names."

_Why me?_

Souji shrugged as he said, "Whatever…"

He reached into the side pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He showed it to the group.

"It says Kanji…," Souji told them as he showed the group.

Kanji looked nervous as he gazed around the room, meeting Souji's and then Naoto's eyes. "I don't know how to play."

Marie smirked, "Have Naoto-kun teach you?"

"Huh?" Kanji looked away, reddening slightly. "Have Naoto-kun teach me?"

Naoto shook her head and replied quickly yet nervously, "I couldn't… I only learned how to play five minutes ago myself…"

_Marie did that on purpose._

Teddie interjected before Marie could make another comment, "Draw the next name!"

Souji drew the next piece of paper. He half-expected Naoto's name to be the next one to come out, and was not surprised in the least when her name was staring back at her. It delighted Marie after all.

"Now Naoto-kun can teach you the game firsthand, Kanji-kun," Marie smiled even wider. Her pout and annoyance had disappeared in an instant. She had completely forgotten about not being able to play right away.

_If she gets to make other people to suffer, she's happy._

Souji shook his head and drew the third name. He tried not to show surprise when his name appeared. He did not know if he expected to be playing first, but he was.

"We're playing against each other again," Naoto said after he showed the club members the shred of paper with his name on it.

He gave Kanji the same amount of information on how to play the game as he had Naoto, though Kanji had asked for a little more.

"Good luck, Senpai," Rise gave him some slight encouragement.

"Don't screw up…," Marie smirked. "If you lose against two people who don't know how to play… heh…"

Souji raised an eyebrow, "Are there punishments and rewards involved?"

"We'll see…," Marie said with a devious tone not hidden well at all. She walked towards Naoto and whispered something into Naoto's ear. Souji guessed it was her giving Naoto tips on how to beat him into the ground.

After Souji switched the settings, Naoto picked the same woman in red armor as Kanji picked a little boy in a striped shirt. This time around Souji picked a pink sponge ball. It was his favorite character, after all.

_It's not the size, it's how you use it._

Every spectator stood as the game loaded. The whole club waited for the game to

Yosuke held up his hand as the Character Select screen disappeared. He spoke in an overdramatic fashion, "Round 1 to see who moves onto the finals… Five minute battle! Ready! Begin!"

_I'm afraid I can't go easy on you this time…_

Once the fight began, Souji took no prisoners. He brutalized Kanji's character from the get-go, flying up in the air and repeatedly landing on top of him. Since Kanji did not know how to utilize his character's attacks, Souji was able to throw Kanji's character around like a ragdoll. At the same time, he dodged missiles and energy blasts from Naoto's character. Occasionally, he dodged them in a way so they would hit Kanji's character.

"This is so frustrating!" Kanji exclaimed after being sent flying for the third time. It was the first time that Naoto's character had sent his off-screen.

Naoto did not immediately respond, only after her own character was knocked off by an attack of Souji's did she answer, "I understand, Kanji-kun. I've been sent flying, too."

"What do we do?" Kanji questioned as his character advanced towards Souji's.

Naoto sighed as her character regenerated. She responded, "We need to team up on him.

"Good luck…," Souji said softly. He was focused on winning this time around. He did not play a lot, but he was sure that this time around, Marie had something up her sleeve.

Two minutes later, the fight was over with an epic victory by Souji. Souji did not go easy on them this time, and it showed by the results screen. Marie had wanted him to lose for one reason or another, but Souji would not let Kanji or Naoto beat him.

Naoto shrugged slightly as the results shown across the screen. "I tried,"

"You did your best…," Souji encouraged before standing up so another member of the club could take his seat.

Kanji looked at Naoto and muttered, "We got killed…"

From behind the chairs, Yosuke said, "Let's hope the next matches are more competitive."

_I don't know if they will be… Has Yukiko ever played this game? Or Rise?_

Naoto and Kanji left the chairs and made their way back to the group so Souji could draw the next three names. After three pulls, Yosuke, Teddie, and Chie were sitting in the chairs and choosing their characters for their own duel. Teddie took the far left chair that Souji was sitting in while Yosuke took the middle seat that Naoto was sitting in earlier. Souji believed it might actually be a good fight, considering that both Teddie and Yosuke had played this quite a bit.

_It might come down to who knocks Chie off the screen more…_

"Hey Yosuke," Teddie said.

"What is it Teddie?" Yosuke said as he picked his character.

"How about that… if I win, you give me some of your stash that's under your bed?" Teddie smiled and winked.

Chie looked disgusted, "Your stash!? Eww…"

Yosuke waved his hands in retaliation, "Come on Teddie! Don't tell people about that!"

Teddie lowered his eyes, "At least one of the Risette pin-up books…"

Souji rolled his eyes as Marie held back a chuckle. The first-year with long-striped socks looked at Rise and grinned, "Someone actually bought one of those?"

Rise retorted, "I think mine sold better than yours…"

"I could care less…," Marie tried to sound apathetic.

_Whatever… pin-up books…_

"If it makes you feel better, Marie-chan," Teddie said in a comforting voice. "Yosuke has your, too."

"Teddie!" Yosuke exclaimed.

"You two are perverts…," Chie muttered.

"Just shut up and kill each other...," Marie said bitterly.

Souji thought Chie might somehow take enough offense to Yosuke's and Teddie's ramblings, and that would make her perform better in her match. However, the game might as well been a one-on-one affair. Yosuke's strongman with a big punch and kick versus Teddie's furry creature with a ray gun were the real showcase. Yosuke's and Teddie's characters went back and forth, punching and shooting, kicking and reflecting attacks. They only stopped long enough to send Chie's character off into the sunset occasionally.

"Damn it…," Yosuke cursed softly as the results flashed and displayed that he had finished second.

Teddie looked down right excited as he turned towards Yosuke and exclaimed, "Woohoo! It's mine!"

"I didn't agree on that!" Yosuke replied vigorously. "Where'd you get that idea!?"

Chie, the girl who had finished a distant third, left the two to bicker and muttered, "Perverts…" She moved close to Souji and whispered. "Can you believe them?"

"They are boys, Chie…," Souji stated what he thought was obvious.

Chie lowered her eyes in partial accusation, "Does that mean… you are also?"

Souji withheld a chuckle, "I'll leave that decision up to you…"

Chie nodded, "First slip-up you make…"

_I wonder which punishment is worse… Marie's? Chie's?_

There were only three club members left to fight for a spot in the finals. Marie, Rise, and Yukiko all took the seats once they were vacated by Teddie and Yosuke. Marie took the far left seat. Souji knew Marie had a distinct advantage over the other two because they had nowhere near the video game experience. Souji doubted Yukiko had ever touched a game system before. There was another reason Souji thought Marie had a distinct advantage. The girl with the sleeveless blouse had the most determined look on her face as she chose her character. It was a look that told everyone that she was going to destroy everyone else.

There was very little conversation between the three opponents as the game started. Marie and Rise were not getting along, anyways. Yukiko just seemed a little out of place. It might just have been that they were just focusing on the fight at hand, as Marie's character smashed Rise's character across the screen.

Behind the three, Yosuke turned to Souji and asked, "So, who do you think is going to win?"

Souji shrugged, "The favorite has to be Marie-chan…"

"Makes sense…," Yosuke responded as his focus went back to the three duking it out on the TV.

Souji sort of wished it was a more competitive match. Marie just seemed to want it more, even though he knew that Rise always had a great urge to beat her fellow ex-idol. Less than halfway through the match, it was decided by the sheer amount of times Marie had knocked the other two club members' characters off the ledges. It ended up being even more embarrassing as Yukiko failed to score a single point.

Marie's smirk was evident as she looked straight at Rise and said, "You… lose!"

Rise shook her head in response, "I didn't expect to win…"

"Sure you didn't…," Marie looked skeptical. She continued. "All I know is that you lost and that you need to get out of the chair…"

_Snrk…_

"So, wait?" Kanji looked around. "It's the winners of the first three matches next?"

"Yep...," Yosuke answered.

Rise left the chair begrudgingly while Yukiko seemed uncaring about the whole thing. Marie stayed in the first chair so she would stay as the first player. Souji took the second chair and Teddie took the far right seat.

_So, I guess I'm not first player. Wait… first player has won every match so far..._

Souji started moving the cursor on his controller to pick the same pink sponge as before. Teddie was going for the same furry ray-gun wielding character as well, while Marie was going for some other hyperactive rat.

While the game was loading, Teddie looked at Marie and asked, "What happens if I win? Do I get to go on a date with Marie-chan? How about Rise-chan?"

Marie raised her eyebrows at Teddie's question. Eventually, she gave a small smile and replied, "How about a date with Rise-chan?"

"Yay!" Teddie looked really excited. "Date with Rise-chan!"

Rise walked behind Souji's chair and whispered into his ear, "I don't trust Marie, so you better win…"

_I probably should…_

Marie looked at Souji and grinned, "If I win, I'll tell everyone that you're a…"

Souji cut her off, "Marie-chan…."

"Sorry…," Marie stopped herself. "I have to win first before I tell everyone that…"

_Okay… Marie is worse. But… I have a plan…_

"Alright, if you win…," Souji said. "But, if I win… I'll tell everyone Nanako's nickname for you…"

Marie's grin soured. She did not want that name to be heard by anyone.

_Okay, Mari-chan…_

"Don't you dare…," Marie said so softly that only Souji could hear her.

Souji just smirked as a reply as the final match began. The fight's first thirty seconds were frantic and proved to Souji what he predicted all along; it was that this match would actually be competitive. Souji's pink sponge ball floated up in the air to slam down on the others, but Marie's hyperactive rat liked to shock Souji's character while it was still in the air. However, a few times Teddie's character interrupted Marie's character with its ray gun, allowing Souji's character to combo it from above. It annoyed Marie greatly, which was oddly satisfying for Souji.

"Damn it…," Marie bit her lip as Souji knocked her character off screen.

The fight continued, Teddie's and Souji's characters exchanging blows. They were both knocked off course when Marie returned to the field, but Souji's character made it back to the platform before he completely fell off, though. Souji's character was knocked off by Teddie's character when Teddie's came back to the field; it was a well-timed throw that the sponge ball could not recover from.

_Everyone has fallen once, and everyone has knocked someone off once._

"Time's running out," Teddie said.

"Go ahead and finish them, Teddie…," Yosuke said, forgetting about the conversation about his stash.

The fight was close, and Souji rapidly tried to maneuver his sponge to hit Marie's rat. Marie's character flew past Souji's character and shocked him. It sent Souji's sponge so far off course that he nearly flew off the screen, but he regained control just in time to fly back to the platform. Teddie's and Marie's character were again exchanging blows when Souji's came up from behind and grabbed hold of Teddie's and threw him off the platform. Teddie's character tried to dash jump back onto the platform, but instead dashed onto the bottom of the platform. There were only five seconds left of the match left.

"No…," Marie realized that she was going to lose.

Marie's character made one last frantic dash to try and knock Souji's off the stage, but failed. Teddie's character had not even regenerated in time to try to stop him from winning.

As the results were revealed, Souji pumped his fist in his mind. Marie looked crestfallen while Teddie just looked disappointed.

Souji turned his head to look around at the others, and then to Marie before he looked back to the others. She looked desperate for Souji not to fulfill his reward, but Souji wanted revenge for her teasing.

"Looks like I win… Mari-chan…," Souji smiled. His smile widened as he waved. "Have a good break everyone!"

* * *

_**Next Chapter: Chapter 8- Tag! You're It!**_

It took me longer than I would have liked to finish this chapter. However, we have finished the first arc! It'll get serious from here on out.


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